Second Chances For Sora
by Whose Liner
Summary: A big adventure begins when the Digidestined discover a double of Sora in the Digital World! While she tries to pursue a romantic relationship with Tai, they suspect that she's concealing some dark secrets...
1. Hollow Echoes of the Present

**Disclaimer:** Why do you think that every time you read this, you keep hoping that it'll say something different? I DON'T OWN DIGIMON! Why can't any of you goofballs understand that?!

Anyway, this the author Whose Liner speaking, and I'm pleased to say that I'm very glad that you all liked my fanfic "From Courage To Love"! And I'm sure that all you guys and gals can't wait for another awesome Taiora tale! To be honest (or maybe it's just me), I haven't seen any new Taiora stories lately...have you noticed that, too? Nevertheless, here's another great story to add on! It is an absolute NECESSITY that you give me plentiful reviews, because I guarantee that you will love my second Taiora fanfic! So without any further ado whatsoever, let the story unweave, the adventure commence, the laughs be heard, and - **especially** - may the romances begin!

LONG LIVE COURAGE AND LOVE!

**Digimon - Second Chances For Sora**

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Chapter 1 - Hollow Echoes of the Present

Cold winds blew. The sky was starting to darken a bit. Snow flurries were beginning to fall from the sky. This was the time of winter for all, human and digimon. But if one were to think on a broader scale, they discover that it's **much** more than that (in a spiritual sense).

In other areas, you can hear bells ringing, voices singing, and a very warm feeling, despite the cold weather. This presence is that of people everywhere, welcoming the spirit of Christmas. This holiday spans not only across the planet Earth, but even to the Digital World, as well. But this next scenario does not at all concern the digital monsters that freely roam that mystical realm. Instead, we're brought elsewhere into the eyes of a regular human being.

A young girl of no more than fifteen years of age, with short auburn-colored hair and crimson eyes was busying herself at the present moment. This girl's name was Sora Takenouchi, the Digidestined of Love. Even though this little fact slipped her mind (at this moment in time), it was no surprise that love was all that really occupied every inch and centimeter of her mind.

Sora hummed a little (semi-cheerful) tune to herself as she worked her fingers around the paper in her careful and capable hands. To her, the task at hand was nothing short of the utmost importance, as she concentrated and tried very hard to neatly wrap up the special Christmas present. The girl carefully folded and pulled the bright green wrapping paper around the gift she was to (hopefully and successfully) deliver later on. With just a few cuts and taping, the wrapping was finished. To complete the picture, she pulled from her small bag of fabrics a long red ribbon to tie around her gift. She carefully cut a moderately fair length, and elegantly tied it around the box.

A breath of relief left her mouth as she proudly appreciated the quality of work she put into the gift, as well as the wrapping job.

"Boy..." Sora said with a genuine smile. "Tai's gonna **love** this present...I just **know** he will. I can't wait to give it to him..."

The girl noticed tiny flurries falling from the heavens outside and she loved the way they slowly fell to the ground, disappearing in an instant, but immediately replaced by more.

She glanced up into the sky, unable to rid herself of the smile that crept into her face. Not that she cared that it wouldn't go away. Her voice uttered a happy sigh.

"Merry Christmas, Tai...I hope this holiday brings happiness to **both** of us..."

A little while ago, the Digidestined received the best Christmas present they could ever receive...the return of their digimon! Tai Kamiya, Sora Takenouchi, Matt Ishida, Izzy Izumi, and Joe Kido were astounded to receive a warm and welcome visit from their digimon buddies!

This was all thanks to the contribution of the new Digidestined, Davis Motomiya, Yolei Inoue, Cody Hida, and Ken Ichijouji. (And partially guided along the way by T.K. Takaishi and Kari Kamiya.) Christmas this year was indeed expected to be a good one...but circumstances would soon take an unexpected turn...

Had any of those kids had the ability to see into the future, they would have foreseen that two evil digimon the Digidestined were currently battling against decided to crash a rock concert held by Matt Ishida's band, the Teenage Wolves.

That's what indeed eventually happened, but the attack is not what this story meant by "an unexpected turn"...let's pretend that time could rewind to an earlier moment, where unfortunate circumstances crushed the expectations of a certain someone. Specifically, the hopes and dreams of the Digidestined of Courage...

* * *

It was the late afternoon, and the news of Matt's concert was spreading fast. Crowds of people had come to see "The Teenage Wolves" perform, whether the fans had come in couples...or by themselves...

Matt's friends promised to come to his concert, but for some reason...Sora made it a priority to get there before the others...

"Wow! This is so exciting! People are already lining up for Matt's concert..." Sora noted.

Not too surprisingly, she was shaking as Biyomon, her pink-colored, bird-like digimon talked to her. But Sora wasn't shaking from the cold temperature...

"Don't worry, Sora, we'll be **sure** to get good seats...especially once you give him these homemade cookies," Biyomon replied, indicating the wrapped present for Matt.

"I hope," Sora said in a nervous and worried voice. There were so many other girls who wanted Matt very badly. Would he notice her? Would she be able to stand out from all the others?

She was getting anxious as to how Matt would react to this. Sora really had her heart set on Matt, and was extremely shy and nervous about the whole thing. The most she could hope for was the possibility that he would get the message and give "it" a try. She hadn't even gone as far as to think of what she would say, once she entered the tent with her box of cookies for him. But those thoughts would have to be put on hold, as the one of the worst case scenarios – originally tucked into the back of Sora's mind – would soon occur and play out just as painfully as she thought it would...

"Sora, wait up!" said a voice.

"Oh, Tai...uh, err..."

Sora was painfully forced to look up at the person to whom the voice belonged. It was her childhood (and so far, **best**) friend, Tai Kamiya, with Augumon in tow. Suddenly the thought of the item cradled in her hands rushed into her head. Her eyes briefly darted downwards to Matt's present, and a small pink blush faintly started to appear on her cold cheeks, actually warming them a little.

This made her feel **very** uncomfortable, for multiple reasons.

"Something smells good!" Augumon cheerfully noted as he and Tai walked up to Sora and Biyomon.

Matt's digimon partner, Gabumon, came out of the gigantic tent, and immediately smelt out the fresh, delicious scent from Sora's cookies.

"Matt's busy getting ready, but I'll take those to him. Mmmm!" Gabumon went.

"I betyou will, no way! You'll eat the whole thing yourself!" complained Biyomon, slightly annoyed.

"Why, I resent that! I'm on a diet!" Gabumon gently argued.

Tai found this little scene amusing, but remembered what he was really here for. So he took a deep breath, and locked his eyes with Sora's.

_Here goes nothing_, he thought, not too confidently.

"So, um, Sora...you goin' to the concert with anybody? I mean, not that it matters to me...just wondering."

Sora eyes almost widened, but she tried her best to maintain her composure. This really was a tragedy for both of them, in a way. For the longest time, she wanted nothing more than for Tai to ask her out, but after three, long years...she got tired of waiting.

Waiting for him to call, waiting for him to say those three little words that had such huge meaning, or just plain waiting for him...

This was it. She had to follow her heart now and walk in the direction in which (she thought) was the right one. And the direction in her mind wouldn't be leading to Tai...it would lead to what (she hoped) awaited her inside the tent.

Sora had no choice but to reject him. She knew quite well that this act would definitely break his heart, but that wouldn't mean that she couldn't try to let him down easily and carefully.

Now Sora was the one who took a deep breath, preparing to answer Tai, who was anxiously awaiting her answer. Mentally, she cursed herself for hurting and betraying him like this...but it was the only way.

"No, I wanna be available in case Matt is free afterwards. Eh, heh..."

Tai swore that his entire body nearly froze in complete shock, and his eyes widened. Even though Sora was right there, in front of him, it truly felt as if she'd been pulled a million miles away. His heart skipped a beat, and his teeth began to chatter a bit. Sora watched in horror as Tai tried to take his rejection as best he could. It seemed like an eternity before he spoke again.

"Oh, I see...Matt, huh?" Tai's voice was noticeably breaking up.

Sora's cheeks were quite flushed as she looked away from Tai, and lowered her sight to the ground; a combination of emotions erupted and was clearly displayed. Expressions of pain, (partial) betrayal and embarrassment could be seen in her eyes and on her face.

Taking another deep (and cracked) breath, he walked up to the special, one-of-a-kind girl, and ever so gently placed his hand on her shoulder, realizing that if everything (in her favor) worked out, she would indeed soon be "off limits"...in more ways than one. As weird or confusing as this seemed, she wouldn't be at all surprised if Tai got angry. In all the time she knew him, Tai always had (more or less) been justified in anything worth getting angry over. Given the present situation, Sora knew that she'd never blame him for how he was feeling right now. She got increasingly worried then and there, and braced herself for any sort of nagging, whining, or...**yelling.** But Tai was about surprise her once again...

"I-It's okay..."

The red streak on Sora's face quickly vanished as she looked up at Tai's face in wonder, as well as slight surprise. She felt her eyes widen a bit, while she struggled to respond.

"Y-you're not mad at me, Tai?" Sora nervously replied as she looked at the sad smile that had just appeared on his face.

"No, of course not! Now get in there and say hi to Matt for me!" Tai half-weakly stated, as he gently pushed her toward the entrance of the tent. It was incredibly difficult to watch these last few moments of Sora as a "single" person.

"Thanks, Tai," she said, taking one last look at him.

"The least you could do is leave us the cookies!" Agumon complained, hungry as ever.

Sora giggled at Augumon and his persistence for food, to somehow lighten this sad mood. She tried her best to satisfy his needs.

"Tell you what...I'll make some special ones for you," she said, deliberately locking eyes with Tai.

With that said, she reluctantly turned away from him and entered the tent, mentally crying a bit for leaving Tai...all alone. This was absolutely terrible. The images of Tai (facial) reaction remained firmly fixed in her memory. He looked **so** hurt, liked a lost and now...clearly **abandoned** puppy. But the knowledge of whatever could be done to repair this was beyond her. She was only **one** girl. His last few words manage to echo through her ears...

"I'll be waiting...thanks," he said, predictably disappointed.

That sad smile was still stuck to his face. He looked at the ground and sighed.

"You know what, Tai?" Augumon asked in a serious tone.

"What?" he replied, briefly jerking his eyes to the little orange dinosaur-like creature.

"You've really grown up!"

Tai couldn't believe it, but strangely enough for some unknown reason...he found himself smiling.

**

* * *

**

SIX MONTHS LATER...

Tai bent forward in his seat, staring at a small television in his school's computer room. The image that was playing on the screen displayed a rough soccer team, dressed in black jerseys, almost effortlessly trouncing their opponents. Thankfully, the losing team wasn't Tai's. But if his team won the upcoming semi-finals...then it WOULD be them. The thought of that possibility gave Tai a visible cold sweat.

In terms of this big soccer tournament, things were really heating up. Tai's team was doing exceptionally well this season, but...the team he watched on the television just seemed to be too much for any other to handle. His thoughts began to drift over to his close friend, Sora.

Tai could still remember the good old days, when they "battled" alongside each other successfully. No one could argue against the crystal clear realization that the two of them were unstoppable on the field. They were a miniature team in themselves, and no one...**NO** one could ever hope to match their combined force and friendship. But Tai quickly recalled the fact that...times change.

Sora really changed a lot, for better and for worse. For one thing, she grown into quite the beautiful, elegant young woman that any boy would be lucky to have. The only problem with that was...he **wasn't** the lucky boy.

His other friend - Matt Ishida - was.

In addition, she had grown much closer to her mother, who understood her more and more every day. And to crown it all, she had switched from soccer to tennis. Not that it was a bad sport, but the concept that (in many ways) she'd inadvertently cut all ties to her closely shared past with Tai was unbelievable. If there ever was a time he needed her help on the soccer field, it was **now!**

"Tai?"

"AHHH!!" Tai yelled as his thoughts shattered.

He turned and saw Sora behind him, a partially worried look on her face.

"Sorry, Tai!" she quickly replied.

"**Geez**, Sora! Give a guy a heart attack...!" he sputtered.

"I said I was sorry, all right?! What's wrong with you?"

"N...nothing...I, uh...I was just lost in thought, that's all," he said, now in a calmer tone. "So, uhh...what brings you here?"

"Oh, well, uh..."

Sora was hesitant about talking to Tai of her little get-togethers with her boyfriend, Matt, but she decided not to beat around the bush.

"Y'see...Matt and I were gonna go out, but he needed to take care of some things first. So I decided to wait for him."

"**Here?**"

"Well, uh...it's as good a place as any, right?"

"I guess," Tai said, shrugging.

"Umm...it's our six-month anniversary-"

"Yeah, I **know.**"

Tai knew very well that the two of them had been going out for almost half a year. He didn't mean to do it..but mentally, he kept track of how long they'd been going out, and how serious they were with each other. And was the pair growing **closer?** Boy, were they **ever!**

"So...what's the scoop? I mean, whatcha got planned?"

"Well...I asked him to take me to that hill above the town...y'know, the one where you get a real bird's eye view of the city?"

"Oh, yeah...**that** one..."

"We're gonna have a romantic picnic up there..." she said, sighing happily to herself. "And from now on, that'll be our '**special place**'..."

Tai's eyes widened a lot at these words. Years ago, as little kids, Sora and Tai would often go up there to play. They'd spend hours climbing the big nearby tree, stay up late until it got dark so they could stargaze, and always worry their mothers sick. That area was both mutually marked by Tai and Sora as **their** 'special place', and they promised NEVER to share it with anybody else, no matter **what.** Tai couldn't believe at all what he was hearing from Sora, and it made him quite upset on the inside.

How could she even consider breaking one of their oldest promises? Matt wasn't to blame here, since he didn't know what **really** made this place so special. But Tai began to wonder if Sora was deliberately handing over every single thing that they previously shared to Matt. In some ways he understood, but was it not the point to build separate "special" moments with your boyfriend, instead of using other peoples' treasured memories as reference? The two of them celebrating their six-month anniversary was hard enough for Tai to contend with, but **this...?** The concept was almost unbearable, and it seriously hurt Tai's feelings. He did his best to resist the urge to yell at her, given the possibility that Sora might say something like...

"_Oh, please. That was back when we were kids, Tai. Get over it."_

That was the last thing Tai wanted to hear, so he sat silently and said nothing, while mentally wallowing in self-pity and depression. He became extremely grateful when Sora decided to change the subject.

"What are you doing here, anyway? School's been over for almost an hour."

"Well, I was waiting for Kari. She and I were gonna walk home together after T.K.'s basketball practice was over. She wanted to watch him play."

"I see...so...what's this your watching?" Sora said, pointing to the television.

"Oh...some reruns of the team that won the first semi-final round in the soccer tournament," Tai replied.

"I see..."

"Our game is coming up in a week or so..." Tai continued. "And provided we win the semi-final round, the coach wants me to watch some plays of this team...y'know, to see if they have any weaknesses."

Sora took a few seconds to watch the video replay, and the team **did** look formidable.

"Man, they **are** good," she agreed.

"That's an understatement...they creamed the other team in this game...they took eight easy goals, without the other team scoring. And then they scored five more for **fun!**"

Sora was pretty surprised at this little revelation. "Whoa. Thirteen to **nothing.**"

"And we gotta be on our guard if we wanna even stand a chance against those creeps. It's times like this that I really wish you were still with us out there on the soccer field, Sora."

"Wel...too bad, Tai. I don't do soccer anymore. Times change."

"As do **people**," he bitterly muttered. Luckily, Sora hadn't heard him.

"Hey, guys!" said a familiar (and cheerful) voice.

The two turned their heads to see a fifteen year-old blonde standing in the doorway. It was Matt, with a small rolled-up blanket tucked under his arm. In his hand was a picnic basket.

"Matt!" Sora happily exclaimed.

"Yo, dude!" Tai waved.

"Yo, yourself!" Matt replied. "What's up?"

"Not much," Tai and Sora said simultaneously.

Matt briefly chuckled, then turned his attention to Sora. "Ready to go?"

"You bet!"

"Great! Let's get going!"

Sora nodded vigorously, and began to follow Matt, who turned to Tai.

"Hey, Tai?"

"What?"

"Umm...this may sound weird, but...you wanna come along?"

Tai was pretty surprised that Matt asked him, but what wasn't surprising was that he didn't want to. Besides, he could see Sora behind him quickly shaking her head.

"Why? As a chaperone?"

Matt laughed. "No, man! Just as y'know, company? The more the merrier..."

"Uhh...tempting, but no. There's stuff I have to do."

"Oh, okay...you sure?"

Tai gave a half-smile and a half-wave. "No, really. It's cool...I'd just be in the way."

"Hey, wait a minute, you wouldn't-"

"Besides..." he interrupted. "It's your **anniversary.**"

Matt backed down at Tai's indication of this solid truth. It was indeed their six-month anniversary, but due to his and Sora's relationship, he noticed that she and Tai hadn't really seen much of each other, and felt that it would have been somewhat unfair to leave Tai so alone. He reluctantly nodded.

"Y...you're right."

"Of course I am," Tai smirked.

"Well, let us be off then, milady," Matt said, bowing to Sora.

"Took you long enough!" she playfully joked. Matt chuckled, and slipped his arm around her.

The brown-haired boy watched them walk off down the school hallway together. He glared a little bit at the way she treated her boyfriend, almost like Matt was her...**best** friend. Sora felt the need to turn her head, back to where Tai was standing. She gulped a bit at the way Tai stared at her, but quickly shrugged it off.

Tai sighed to himself as went back to watching the soccer replay. It was nice of Matt to invite him...but honestly, what **would** have happened? It's not as if Sora would have decided to switch guys then and there. He'd been reminding himself (ever since last Christmas that she was only one girl. In some ways, it was good that she was one-of-a-kind. It might have been very weird if there were **two** of her...or three, or seventy, or a hundred. It was ultimately her established uniqueness that made her very a special indivdual.

But as Tai would later find out, the concept of NOT being unique would have its advantages...

"_Tai..."_

"Hello?!" Tai whipped his head around. But the room – and the hallway – was empty. He looked back and forth through the hallway five times. Nothing. But he was sure that he heard someone-

"_Can you hear me?"_

Tai looked around again. "Who's there?! **Hello??**"

Nothing.

The boy slumped back down in the chair, sighed, slowly took a deep breath, and exhaled.

"Boy, I gotta take it easy...I'm so stressed out that I'm **hearing** things now."

* * *

"You WHAT?!"

"I just said I was going out with T.K. to get some ice cream," innocently answered Kari.

"Why didn't you tell me **sooner?** Then I wouldn't have had to **waste** the last hour waiting!" Tai almost yelled.

"I...I'm sorry, bro...it was just sorta like a last-minute thing..."

Tai sighed and turned away from his little sister. Apparently, his previous encounter with Sora (and Matt) left him more stressed out than he realized. T.K., who watching this scene play out from afar, leaned against a nearby bleacher to grab a small towel from his gym bag to wipe the sweat off his forehead. Patamon, his digimon pal, was also watching, while squeezed under the bleachers.

"What're those two yapping about, T.K.?" the little orange digimon asked.

"Beats me," T.K. replied. "But whatever it is, it sounds pretty heavy."

Gathering his gym bag (and Patamon), T.K. headed over to where Kari and her brother were talking.

"...no, **I'm** sorry!" he heard Tai say. "I guessed I'm just tired, Kari. You and T.K. go get some ice cream...have fun."

"Well, you can come with us if you want, Tai!" T.K. added, letting himself into the conversation.

"No, I'm...I'm not really feeling up to it...I'll see you at home, sis," Tai said a bit sadly as he left the gym.

* * *

A bit later, Kari and T.K. (with Patamon) walked down the street, leaving from the ice cream parlor. As Kari licked her strawberry ice cream cone, she thought back to her big brother's tone of voice. She knew exactly why he sounded all stressed out.

"So what was your brother all mad about, Kari?" T.K. asked, his mouth full of mint-flavored cream and chococlate chips.

Kari sighed. "Do the names 'Matt' and 'Sora' hold any meaning for you?"

T.K. quickly caught on.

"**Oh**...I get it. Yeah...these past few months must be pretty hard for your brother, huh?"

"That's an understatement. Tai tries to hide it, but me being his sister, and given the fact that he and I are very close to each other...I can see right through his farce."

"Yeah...it's starting to worry me, too. Tai's been like a second big brother to me. Don't get me wrong...I mean, Matt's a great guy and terrific brother, but him and Sora getting together seemed pretty unlikely. I really thought that she'd go for Tai."

"Well, the truth of matter is that Sora just gave up on him...so she-"

"...took an interest in my brother," T.K. finished.

Kari nodded, but then put on expression of partial anger.

"That's it, exactly. But Sora was just too stubborn and impatient to give my brother just a **little** more time! If she'd only waited until **Christmas...!** And to make matters worse, now she's practically spending **all** of her free time with Matt!"

T.K. was somewhat sympathetic, but tried to stay optimistic.

"C'mon, Kari...don't you think that you're overreacting a bit?"

"Remember last month when Tai took the us to the amusement park?"

T.K. nodded.

"Sora was supposed to come along with us," Kari noted firmly.

"She was?! W-where did-"

"Take a wild guess."

It hit T.K. like a ton of bricks. His mind – and his eyes – widened.

"**Ohhhhh**, man..."

Kari's eyebrows leaned towards each other.

"I can't forgive Sora for hurting my brother like this," she growled. "Rrrgh...she makes me so **mad!**"

"Hey...easy, Kari..."

"I **can't** take it easy! My brother has **ALWAYS** been there for Sora **AND** me whenever I needed him! I love my brother so much...I don't think I could bear it if something bad happened to him."

* * *

"I'm home!" Kari yelled as she entered her home.

She quickly saw that her parents were out, but her brother was in. She saw him sitting on the couch, leaning towrds the television, which wasn't even on. Tai's eyes seemed as if they were staring endlessly into nothingness. The lights were turned off in the area of the room where he was sitting.

"T...Tai?" she asked with caution. "I have some ice cream for you-"

"Leave it in the fridge, Kari," her brother replied in a familiar, sad tone.

Walking over to where her brother was sitting she spied a very depressed expression on his face.

"Hey..." she began, closely sitting down next to her kind-hearted older brother. "What's wrong?"

From the distant look in his eyes, Tai seemed to be pretty lost in thought, but he still answered his little sister (in no more than five words).

"It's their six-month anniversary."

"Oh," Kari said, nodding.

"Yeah," Tai replied, with barely a nod. "And she's taking him to our '**special place**'..."

Kari's eyes widened in realization.

"You're kidding."

Tai didn't respond. But before he could complete another thought, he felt his sister kneel next to him on the soft couch, and wrap her arms around him, trying her best to provide comfort. After giving him a soft kiss on the cheek, the two of them sighed in sadness over Tai's inner and emotional distress.

"Kari...look, you don't have to-"

"I **want** to."

She always said that in his times of need. A lot of sisters probably wouldn't do this sort of thing, but not Kari. The Kamiya siblings were closer than most.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay," she almost whispered into his ear. "I promise."

"I hope...look, I-"

Tai stopped short of his words as he tried to figure out what exactly to say. What was on his mind was an apology. Ever since the beginning of this emotional downfall since last Christmas, Kari had noticed a growing change in her brother.

Naturally whenever he was around other people, he always out on a cheerful face, pretended like nothing in the world bothered him, and acted as wacky and happy as ever. But only Kari could truly see that Tai's heart wasn't in it.

More times than either of them could count, Kari had put aside her free time to hang out with her friends (Digidestined or not) in order to continuously console her brother.

"You what?" she asked.

"I...I'm sorry you're taking all this time to...I mean, you're spending all this time with me and giving me all these...hugs..." he said weakly.

Kari giggled a bit.

"Well, if it's the hugs you're concerned about, don't worry...I have plenty of those in stock. Free of charge."

Tai gave her a half smile and finally hugged her back. "In that case, I accept...I'll take a free hug anytime."

Kari smiled a little more as she continued to firmly hold him. "I'll be here for as long as you need me."

Things didn't get any easier when she persuaded Tai to spill the beans about the specifics regarding Matt and Sora's anniversary. Even more so when she found out that it was Sora's idea. Needles to say, Kari was a more than a little peeved about it.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya soon came home and started dinner. Tai once again put on his cheerful facade for the benefit of his parents. Kari knew that it had to be somewhat exhausting to pull off an act like that so often, but it only made her appreciate his strength more.

Predictably, Tai decided to go to bed early. Kari tried to get him to play a game with her or to go online to talk with his friends, but his decision was final. She sighed and looked out the window, glancing over the entire town. In the back of her mind, she was glad that she couldn't see Sora from her apartment, even though the sight of the hill where Tai and Sora used to hang out was within her range of sight. The twelve-year-old glared as she continued to look out the window.

_You'd better enjoy yourself for now,_ Kari thought, as if to project her raging words into Sora's mind. _I hope you know just how much you're hurting my brother. And you know what? It's __**so**__ good to know that you're always there for him as much as he is for you!_

**

* * *

**

SOMEWHERE ELSE...

"Brrrrr!" went Sora as she hugged herself on the hill.

Matt looked up from his sandwich to his girlfriend with concern in his eyes.

"Something wrong, Sora? It's not really that cold out today, is it?"

"I don't know, Matt," she said, partially confused. "I just felt a sudden chill..."

**

* * *

**

10:42 p.m.

Kari yawned as she got up from the couch, turning off the television. She was getting tired and finally decided to hit the sack. But not before obtaining a little pre-midnight snack. She pulled open the refrigerator and the cupboard.

Meanwhile in her shared bedroom with Tai, one could practically taste the pain, tension and sorrow that was radiating from the lower bunk. Tai was tossing and turning. Though he was indeed asleep, his unconsciousness didn't nearly provide enough shielding from the haunting voice inside his head. Mentally, he tried his absolute hardest to fight off or yell back at that voice.

"_Tai..."_

"Who the heck are you?! What do you want from me??"

"_Please...I'm here for you..."_

"Leave me alone!!"

"_Tai...I'm here... I love y-"_

"**GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!**"

Tossing and turning in bed, Tai woke up with a cold sweat running down his forehead. His head turned to see his the concerned look on his sister's face. Quickly putting down her plate of cookies and glass of milk, she rushed over to her brother without hesitation. Apparently Tai yelled that last line out loud, and Kari (not to mention everybody for the next ten blocks) heard him clearly.

"**Tai?!** Tai, what's wrong?!"

Her brother sat up in his bed with beads of clear liquid, flowing downwards from his forehead...and his eyes.

"I...I..."

"Take a deep breath...don't worry, I'm here."

"Lately, I've been hearing this...**voice** in my head...and it won't leave me alone."

"Uh-huh..."

"And every time I hear it...I get that feeling of guilt...that I lost Sora..."

"Hey, **hey!**" Kari said, vigorously and quickly hugging her brother again. "You have NOTHING to be guilty or sorry about! You hear me?!"

But Tai continued to mutter to himself.

"She always used to be everything to me...she meant everything and anything to me and I...I didn't..."

"Look, just hush now! It's **not** your fault! None of it is!"

"I loved her so much..."

"Shush! Shhh...it's okay. I'm right here and I'm not leaving you, y'hear? I **won't** leave you!"

Tai stopped talking as he began to cry like Kari had never seen. It was so hard to not cry herself at the sounds of his voice, but Kari stayed strong and did her absolute best to hold onto her brother and be there for him...just like he had always done in her times of sadness and depression.

Kari briefly grew angry, as her mind drifted around the cause of Tai's predicament.

_Sora's my friend,_ she thought. _But I can't and __**won't**__ forgive her for this until she makes things right._

After ten minutes, Tai finally started to calm down, and Kari offered him her food. Tai wasn't very hungry, but took a sip from her glass of milk. He calmed down even more, as the milk felt cool and sweet as it poured down his throat. He handed the glass back to Kari, but she pushed it back into his hand.

"No, it's yours. You drink the whole thing, okay?"

Tai didn't speak, but slowly nodded. Kari put on a pained smile as he continued to drink.

As he slowly gulped the milk down, he turned to Kari and did his best to put on a straight face. Kari took this as a sign that he wanted to talk.

"What is it, big brother?" she asked she tenderly stroked his cheek.

"Well...you remember that voice I was telling you about?"

Kari nodded.

"It's just that...I started thinking...and I can't explain it, but...I know **who** that voice belongs to."

"W...who?"

Tai took a deep breath and carefully locked his eyes with Kari before answering. And his response fell upon disbelieving ears.

"Sora."

**

* * *

**

TO BE CONTINUED...

Well, well! Hello, people! Yes, yes, **SO** good to be back again writing my **SECOND** Taiora! I don't mind tellin' you that I've been dying to write this story, and I'm sure that all you fans have been dying to read it! Also as a bonus, next chapter...the "first" appearance of Mimi!! The one Digidestined whom I've neglected for so long will finally make her debut in the second chapter! Anyhoo, like I promised a while back, this story will have MUCH more Taiora mush than my first one! **Yecch!** But trust me when I say that you will all LOVE it! So with that said, please review and prepare to take the next few steps into one of the best fics that will keep the spirit of Taiora alive! TAIORA FOREVR!


	2. Two Sided Mystery

**Merlaidics:** I ton'd won Dinogim.

**Digimon - Second Chances For Sora**

* * *

**Chapter 2 - Two Sided Mystery**

"Hey, Izzy! I got it!" yelled a voice.

A (very) shorthaired boy of about fourteen years of age named Izzy jerked his head up in the direction of the voice that was calling his name. He averted his gaze (that was glued to the computer screen) to the doorway of the computer room. Half running into the room was his friend, fellow Digidestined (and genius) Ken Ichijouji with his backpack in hand. Since his school had no classes today, he decided to head over to see Izzy on important business.

"Got what?" Izzy asked, very curiously.

"This!" Ken replied excitedly.

Izzy watched as Ken unzipped his bookbag and pulled out a couple of unusual looking tools, almost like they weren't of this world. And that's what exactly they were.

"Whoa! Are...are those...?"

"Yep, they're the genetic testers I used from my days as the 'Digimon Emperor'...and you said a while back that you really wanted to check them out, so...here they are!"

"Prodigious!" Izzy exclaimed.

"I originally used them for cruel tests, such as creating and modifying my dark ring and spires, as well as splicing innocent digimon and constructing my own. I was planning to destroy them...but then you said that eventually-"

"-they can be used to someday better mankind," Izzy finished.

"Hey, if a wondrous place like the Digital World could ever really exist, then I suppose **anything's** possible at this point," Ken shrugged.

"I wholeheartedly agree," Izzy cheerfully nodded.

"So, what are you up to right now? It's lunchtime...shouldn't you be having lunch with the others?"

"I decided to eat here," he said, holding up half of his peanut butter and banana sandwich. "Want some?"

Ken took a small step back.

"Uh...no, thanks."

"Anyway...I **was** going to go to the cafeteria, but something caught my eye when I did a preliminary scan of the Digital World earlier."

"What is it?"

"Well, I don't know exactly. I can't tell you yet, because I could be wrong about this whole thing...but I'd like you to round up the other Digidestined. Tell them to meet me here after classes are over...I really think I've stumbled onto something **amazing!**"

"I'm on it!" Ken said, heading out of the room.

Izzy turned back to the computer room, sighed, and shook his head at the screen.

"Boy, what a mystery **this** is. And if I'm right on the money here...we may have trouble on our hands **real** soon."

* * *

By the end of the (school) day, Ken had done just that. Unfortunately, he couldn't venture into this current "mission" with the others, as he promised to help his mother run some errands. Nevertheless, **some** of the Digidestined managed to make it.

Izzy was once again sitting in his chair in the computer room when a handful of the other Digidestined arrived. That "handful" consisting of Sora, Davis and Cody. The younger two of the three had DemiVeemon and Upamon with them.

"This is **it?** Where's everybody else?" Izzy asked, partially stunned.

"Yolei went home sick today," Davis said.

"Yeah, and T.K. has basketball practice," Cody added.

"Kari has cheerleading," Sora stated.

"Great," Izzy muttered. "What happened to the good old days when all your friends would be there in a heartbeat?"

"A lot of us have other priorities, Izzy," Sora noted. "Besides...it's better than **nothing**, right?"

Izzy reluctantly nodded.

"Now..." she continued. "What's the emergency, Izzy? Ken said that it was really important."

"Good question, Sora," he said. "And I'm especially glad that **you're** here. Earlier when I told Ken about this little...'problem' that was on my hands, I wasn't sure that the readings I was picking up were real or not. But now I'm sure that they're quite accurate."

"In **short?**" Sora asked, almost impatiently.

"I'm not sure I can explain it in ten words or less, but I'd all of you to gather around the computer."

Everybody nodded and did so, while Izzy tapped a few keys on the computer keyboard. Immediately, an image of a small area of the Digital World that only he and Sora would recognize.

"Does this place look familiar to you, Sora?"

The teenage girl looked at the screen for a long moment. And what she saw made her blood run cold. The image on the screen that presented itself was some sort of desert area. And deeply tucked in the sand...was a gigantic upside-down pyramid.

"It...it **can't** be..." she whispered.

"It **is**..." Izzy replied. "Etemon's pyramid."

"Etemon's pyramid?" asked an innocent and curious DemiVeemon. "What's that?"

"Did some old pharaoh capture you and make you his slave?" Upamon asked.

"No," Sora replied, shaking her head.

"Then tell us already," Davis pestered.

Taking a deep breath, Sora slowly began to explain.

"During our original adventure in the Digital World, we were attacked by this singing, orange, monkey-like digimon who called himself Etemon."

Cody and Davis nodded in acknowledgement as Sora continued with her story.

"I was kidnapped by one of his prisoners, a cybernetic creature called Datamon. He ran several experiments on me, in an attempt to control Biyomon. And if the others hadn't come to my rescue when they did, he might have succeeded."

"Anyway..." Izzy said, bringing attention to himself again. "Take a look at this."

Once again working his hands on the keyboard, he eventually brought up an diagram of the structure on the computer screen.

"What is it?" asked Cody.

"It's an internal schematic of the pyramid. Do you see that little red flashing dot on the screen?"

Again, the younger boys nodded. Izzy did his best to keep the atmosphere calm.

"Well, I can't exactly explain what it is, but-"

"Wait a minute, Izzy!" Sora interrupted. "Are you saying that Etemon's still **alive?!**"

"I won't lie to you, Sora...it's **definitely** a possibility."

The girl sighed.

"Don't tell me that the only way we'll be able to know is by checking it out!"

"Okay..." Izzy replied. "I won't tell you."

Sora sighed again and pulled out her digivice.

"By the way..." he continued. "Are you sure that no one else was available?"

"Wait a sec, Izzy," Davis said. "I think I see Matt in the hallway-"

"Matt?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, and looks like he's firmly hugging some girl-"

"WHA?!" she almost shrieked. "Wait 'til I give that snake a piece of my-"

"**Mind** yourself, Sora! It can wait!" Izzy cut in. "Besides, we have more important things to-"

"So do I!"

Izzy sighed to himself and turned to the others. "I suppose we **could** give her a couple of minutes..."

Sora ran as fast as she could over to Matt and the girl. She tapped the light-brown haired female on the shoulder and went...

"Okay, little missy...whoever you are, get your paws **off** my boyfriend!"

"Wait!" went a panicky Matt. "You don't understand! I've got a surprise for you! This girl is-"

"Dead **meat** when I'm through with her! And **you're** next!"

"I don't believe this..." Matt whined as she focused her attention on the girl once more...

"All right, I don't know WHO you think you are, but-"

"You're in **big** trouble if you can't guess...Sora!" went a somewhat high-pitched voice that was easily recognizable.

Her eyes widened as all thoughts ceased, realizing who she was talking to. There was absolutely no doubt as the mystery girl turned around to face her.

"Oh, no..." Matt said as he quickly stuck his fingers in his ears, knowing all too well what was coming.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

"MEEMS!"

"SOR!"

It was more than an understatement to say that Sora was pleased to come face to face with none other than Mimi Tachikawa, the Digidestined of Sincerity! What surprised her a little more was that her friend from America wasn't dressed in her stereotypical (top fashion-based) attire. Sora found her dressed in a red T-shirt, pink skirt and possibly for the first time...**sneakers!**

"Mimi! What in the **world** are you doing here?!" Sora excitedly (and happily) asked.

"Simple!" Mimi answered, equally cheerful. "I'm on vacation! And since Mom and Dad knew that I **badly** wanted to visit you all...here I am!"

"Oh, I'm so glad to see you...I've missed you **so** much!"

"I've missed you too, Sora!"

Real tears of joy began to form the eyes of both girls as they didn't hesitate to grab each other into a warm hug. Izzy, Davis and Cody (and their digimon) stuck their heads out of the computer room to see what all that horrid screaming was about. Quickly realizing that Mimi was here for a visit, they too greeted her. Izzy then informed her and Matt of the current situation.

"While the three of you were yammering in the hallways..." he began, "...I made some more progress deciphering the energy signature I previously detected."

"Whaddya mean, Izzy?" asked Mimi, as curious as ever.

"Well, I've found that whatever this signature is, it's virtually identical to our digivices. It's giving off the same kind of readings we get when another one is in the vicinity."

"Sorta like the way we can track each other down with our digivices when we're separated, right?" Matt inquired.

Izzy smiled briefly and nodded at Matt.

"Exactly," he confirmed.

"Hey, Izzy...that little red dot is moving, I think," Davis pointed out.

"Yeah, that was the other thing I was going to mention," Izzy replied.

"What's going on **now?**" Cody wondered.

Once again, the teenage genius provided a quick, albeit cryptic answer.

"For the last few minutes, I noticed that this signal has been alternating its position at random intervals."

"And **that** means...?" demanded an impatient Matt.

"This energy signature definitely belongs to some sort of life form."

"You're saying...?" Sora began to ask.

"That's right," Izzy firmly stated, nodding. "Someone...or **something **is down there...alive."

A brief silence followed that last comment. But it was quickly over as Matt cleared his throat.

"Uh, listen...normally I'd love to stay and investigate this mystery with all of you, but I got band practice. See ya!"

Mimi cheeks flushed a bit as she watched Matt with what looked like a expression of disappointment and longing as he kissed Sora affectionately. She sighed to herself as she until he disappeared out of eyesight.

"Okay, everyone ready?" Izzy asked.

Everyone nodded, then Izzy turned to face Mimi.

"Mimi, would you mind staying behind and monitoring our progress from here?"

"Huh? Why?"

"While I don't feel comfortable walking into familiar enemy territory, I **do** know the layout of the place pretty well."

"And if anybody can spot anything out of the ordinary, it's good 'ol Izzy," said a confident Davis.

"Plus, I'll need someone to remain here to warn us if any trouble arises."

Mimi warmly smiled and nodded with a look that said...

"You can count on me!"

"Great, thanks," Izzy said, smiling back.

"Hey, Sora...let's hang out after you get back, okay?" Mimi asked.

Sora wore a playful smirk on her face at that moment.

"Well, I don't know...I just booked about a MILLION dates with my boyfriend, Matt..."

At that moment, Mimi was real glad no one saw her glare briefly at Sora.

"...but I think I can squeeze you into my busy schedule."

"Perfecto!" Mimi went, quickly switching back into "cheerful" mode giving a "thumbs-up" sign.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go!" asked Davis.

"Yeah...get moving, guys!" Mimi agreed.

"Mm-hm!" everyone else said.

And with a bright flash of light from the computer screen, they were gone.

* * *

Semi-fierce winds of sand kicked up rather sporadically when the Digidestined arrived. But something in their heads told them that these conditions were pretty common in this part of the Digital World. That is, given the unchanging weather, it probably wouldn't have mattered when they came.

"Ugh," Sora began to complain. "I can't believe I agreed to come back here."

Izzy and Cody moderately chuckled and entered the pyramid with the others following.

It came as no surprise that Sora was (and continued to be) uneasy while cautiously walking through the dark corridors of the bizarre complex. She had less than fond memories of this place and Sora just couldn't quite block them out. Although it seemed as if the building was now clearly uninhabited and abandoned, this fact still didn't help Sora's predicament.

Izzy had previously mapped out the insides of the pyramid and memorized them to an extent, so he didn't feel as nervous as Sora did.

"Okay, we're not too far from what used to be Etemon's main control room."

"So?" Davis asked.

"What's that mean?" asked Veemon, Davis's digimon partner.

"It means that if I can get that old computer up and running, I might be able to better pinpoint the origin of those energy readings I picked up. Sound good, Sora?"

"I guess it's worth a shot," she replied. "But regardless of what we find, let's just get out of here quickly. I don't mind telling you that this place **seriously** gives me the creeps...something here just doesn't seem right."

"Don't worry," Izzy said in a calm tone. "I **promise** that we'll try to make this as brief as possible."

Within seconds, they entered the control room. Izzy flipped on what appeared to be a light switch. As soon as Sora got a look at the gigantic room (as it lit up), the memories of her encounter and imprisonment by Datamon (as well as the fiasco with Etemon) flooded her brain rapidly. But thankfully, those rather unpleasant thoughts were quickly interrupted by Cody's voice.

"Anything, Izzy?"

"Not much, I'm afraid," he answered somewhat glumly. "Either some sort of coded program has locked up this computer's database, or it simply malfunctioned beyond repair after all these years of being unused and inactive."

"What'll you do now?" asked Sora, partially out of it.

"Well, since that energy reading was so hard to find, I was hoping that Etemon's main computer would provide some data on what it could be, since it probably has information on the entire pyramid."

"But no such lick...er, I mean **luck**...right?" Armadillomon inquired. "Sorry...I'm kinda hungry."

"That's okay," Izzy continued. "Anyway, you're right...**no** such luck. I can't access the computer...not without a better insight of how a more advanced and elaborate computer such as this one works."

"Hey, check this out!" Cody exclaimed as everyone turned their heads.

"What is it, Cody?" Sora asked.

"There a small bed here...about the right proportions for a human..."

The short boy got a bad feeling as he felt the bedsheets.

"Something wrong, Cod?" asked Davis. "Did its last user wet the bed?"

"No, but these sheets are **warm**..."

"Meaning?"

Cody sighed.

"**Meaning** that someone's slept in this bed recently!"

"Oh, yeah...I knew that."

"Let's get outta here, you guys..." said a wary Sora.

At the same time, Davis was starting to get hungry and also wanted to head home.

"I guess there's not much else we can do but pack up and head for ho-"

"Wait!" went Sora, in an alarmed voice. "I'm getting a reading on my digivice!"

"Me too!" Izzy agreed.

Davis and Cody, and Sora crowded around Izzy, as he pointed out what was going on. He held up his digivice to everyone as he began to explain.

"Okay, do you all see that big red dot?" he asked, pointing to a specific spot on his digivice.

Everyone nodded.

"That's all of us. Our digivice signals are all converging in this room, at this single location, creating one big signal."

Everyone nodded again.

"Now...see that one tiny red dot on the opposite side of the screen? That's undoubtedly the signal I detected today. Now it's approaching in this direction."

Cody eyes widened in realization of what was happening.

"It's heading towards us," he said in an alarmed voice.

"Whatever it is, let's hope it doesn't **find** us!" Sora cautioned. "Izzy, isn't there any other way out of here?"

Izzy frowned and shook his head. "There are two other doors exiting this room, but they both quickly lead to dead ends."

"Great..." she muttered.

"Don't worry, I have another idea. Davis, I want you and Cody get by the entrance and switch off the lights, while Sora and I hide. At least this way, you two can be ready for whatever walks through that door."

"Right!" they both said.

The boys and their digimon did what they were told, while Izzy pulled Sora behind a nearby computer console, but not so far away that they wouldn't be able to see whatever came in.

The pair continued to glance at their digivices, watching as the signal got closer...and **closer**...

"Okay...this is it," Izzy said, with some degree of nervousness clearly being heard in his voice. "The signal is practically right on top of us...so to speak..."

"Get ready, Veemon!" Davis whispered.

"You too, Armadillomon!" Cody ordered.

Footsteps could be heard as whoever this was entered the room. Izzy and Sora were itching to get a good look as to entered as the previously dark figure swiftly turned on the lights. All of a sudden, time seemed to freeze for all of the room's occupants, **especially** for Sora, was rendered completely speechless and motionless as the individual that had just walked in. Sora's face of pure shock was equally exchanged with the face of the mysterious figure.

"Oh...my..." was all she could get out.

It immediately became clear that Izzy was right. There **was** someone living all the way out here in the desert, inside the pyramid. But it someone much more shocking than Etemon or Datamon.

It was...a **girl**.

A young girl.

A human girl.

A girl wearing Sora's face.

**

* * *

**

(MOST DEFINATELY) TO BE CONTINUED...

I don't have much to say at this point, so I'll just let you readers choke on this cliffhanger for a while. Btw, I'm sorry I haven't had as much time as before to post new chapters more quickly. Y'know...house chores and whatnot. See ya next time!


	3. Sora Times Two

"_Hello, everybody! I'm Whose Liner, the author of this story, and I'm about to introduce you all to a friend of mine. His name is __**Mr. Disclaimer**__!_"

"_Hello-lo-lo, all! I'm just here to read along with the rest of you, so let's get this show on the road!_"

**Digimon - Second Chances For Sora**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 3 - Sora Times Two

The group of kids known as the Digidestined couldn't have been more shocked this day. Paired up with their digimon, they were undertaking yet another crazy adventure in the Digital World.

Their destination was Etemon's pyramid, one of their less than favorite places to (re)visit. Of course, being held captive there over time and having your life placed in danger was sure to cause some dislike for this old place.

But what was happening somehow beat everything else they'd previously experienced all hands down. Having discovered sort of energy signature originating from this pyramid, Izzy and some of the other Digidestined decided to investigate. They did their best to mentally prepare themselves for whatever they found...but unfortunately it was futile. For what they discovered appeared to be the spitting image of one of the kids who had come along.

It was a double of Sora Takenouchi, the Digidestined of Love.

For some reason, Sora found it hard to blink. She just couldn't take her eyes of this girl with her face. And neither could the Digidestined. Sora slowly and cautiously stepped towards the girl, circled her and finally stopped and locked eyes with her, face to face. A blind man might have thought that a girl was talking to herself had he been listening to the oncoming conversation.

"Who...who **are** you?" Sora asked.

The girl answered with the exact same voice...and astonishment.

"I might ask **you** the same question!"

Everyone else walked towards the pair of girls.

"M...my name's...Sora. Sora Takenouchi."

"That makes two of us."

Sora studied this mystery person, from head to toe. Whoever she was, she truly looked liked Sora and sounded like her. Even though Sora had her hair tied back, this girl clearly still recognized her.

She wore a sleeveless yellow shirt (which seemed to be coming apart at the seems), dirty blue jeans (with holes in the knees), and worn out dark gray sneakers. She also saw a pair of muddy pink gloves stuffed into her back pocket. What looked like scratches, burns, bruises, and dirt covered her arms and her face. Her hair was severely in disarray, as well. It looked as if it hadn't been combed it for months.

Izzy stepped forward to make some inquiries of his own, since Sora by now had gone completely (albeit temporarily) speechless.

"Excuse for interrupting this peaceful silence, but I have something I'd like to ask you."

The girl nodded.

"H...**HOW** did you get here??"

"About four years ago, at summer camp, some...huge force pulled me and six of my friends here, to this place called the 'Digital World'. We were given something called a 'digivice' and we kept exploring this world until we found this gigantic upside-down pyramid. Two creeps named Etemon and Datamon lived here they kidnapped me."

Izzy was certain that her story would definitely be similar to Sora's, yet different in its own way.

"And then what happened?"

"My friends tried to come to my rescue...everything gets a little fuzzy from here on...all I can remember are shouts, the sounds of explosions...and lots of lights. After that...I don't remember anything. I found myself lying out somewhere in this vast desert...alone. For the next few years I wandered and traveled the Digital World by myself. And then about nine months ago, my travels came full circle and I found myself back at this pyramid. So...I sort of made myself at home here."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

"So you're saying you were trapped here in this world?" Cody asked.

"Well, yeah..."

"Uh, didn't you know that there were a whole truckload of televisions spread out all over the Digiworld that you could've used to get yourself outta here?" asked Davis.

"Don't you think I would have **done** that already if I could? During my travels, my digivice got busted."

"Huh?"

"This."

The girl reached into her right jean pocket and pulled out what looked like one the "old school" digivices. Izzy saw though, that it did indeed looked busted. It had some dirt and mud stuck to it, the screen was loose, and the outside casing looked bent and chipped. Overall it didn't look much better than who it belonged to.

"Looks like it's in pretty bad condition," Izzy noted.

"Over the past couple years I've managed to become something of 'fix-it' person, but when I tried to repair my digivice, I couldn't. The circuitry was too complex and unfamiliar."

"Well..." said Izzy, wanting to be useful, "...let me have a shot at it. I'm **very** familiar with them. Do you have any screwdrivers or tools lying around here?"

"Umm...yeah, there's a old tool box just behind that console," she said, pointing.

Izzy nodded, and bent over to rummage through the rusty tools. Thankfully they were still good enough for usage. He placed the digivice (and some of the tools) on a table, and he sat down to tinker with the device.

Davis and Veemon started to hear a disgusting sound. But immediately they discovered that it was the really the call of a much greater power than anything they had ever faced previously - the supreme power of their starving stomachs. Unfortunately, Davis's next words exited his mouth out of purely strict hunger than anything else.

"C'mon, Izzy, how much longer is this gonna **take?** Veemon and I are gettin' **real** hungry!"

"I told you to grab more food during lunch!" Cody gently scolded. Armadillomon just lightly chuckled.

Sora's double turned her head at their predicament.

"Oh, hey...I just stocked up on some food last week and put it all in that fridge over there and, well...if any of you guys are hungry, there should be plenty of food left."

Before the entire sentence could finish, Davis and Veemon were already halfway into the refrigerator. Sora and Cody just laughed at the scene.

"Okay, that's it!" Izzy half-happily exclaimed. "I got it!"

Cody, Armadillomon, Sora, and her "twin" turned their heads.

"Is it fixed?" Cody asked.

"Not completely," Izzy replied, handing it back to its onwer. "But I did manage to rig some of the inner wires together. It has partial power, so it should activate properly enough to work."

The double looked at it and then at Izzy.

"Oh, thank you **so** much..."

"Don't thank me yet...we still need to see if it works or not."

"Well...only one way to find out!" she said. "Let's get outta here! I've been stuck here long enough!"

Izzy turned to the "real" Sora and whispered into her ear.

"Sora, look...I'm gonna take her back with me. I've got some devices that I received from Ken today, and I can use them to verify her identity. Why don't you stay here for a little while longer to see if you can find anything useful. If nothing turns up within fifteen minutes, then return home."

Sora nodded in agreement, but her face still wore a look of caution. Though she would never try to sabotage one of Izzy's "investigations", she was really hoping that they WOULDN'T find anything.

"Let's get a move on!" Izzy said.

The girl followed, but suddenly motioned for Izzy to "hold on." He watched as she quickly made her way to the bed Cody had sat on recently and pulled out a small package, wrapped in green, with a worn out red ribbon around it. The box was partially bent and had some dust and dirt on it, but the girl was confident that whatever was inside had preserved.

"Okay, lead the way!" she said half-excitedly.

As Izzy and "the double" exited the seemingly abandoned pyramid, it goes without saying that Izzy still had plenty of questions that he wanted the answers to. But the girl did, too.

"I had no idea that there were other people here!" she began. "How did you find me?"

"Well, I picked up the energy signature from your partially functioning digivice, and here we are...um...gee, I'm not even sure what to call you..."

The girl rolled her eyes.

"Look, I have no idea who '**SHE**'was back there, but **MY** name is Sora, okay?! I mean, I won't hold it against you if you decide to use my actual name every now and then!"

"Okay, okay!" Izzy replied, putting up his hands in protest.

"Now that you know my name, who exactly are **YOU?**"

"Oh, well...I'm Izzy. Izzy Izumi."

The girl's eyes immediately went wide.

"Oh, my...Izzy, it's YOU?! I...I'm so sorry! I can't understand why I didn't recognize you at first! I...I...why am I stuttering?! Gimme a hug!"

Disregarding whether or not Izzy would comply with her instructions, Sora immediately pulled him into a fierce embrace, all the while being careful not to crush the present in her other hand.

"Thank goodness, a familiar face! Ever since I got separated from the rest of you guys, I always wondered where you all went! But I never stopped hoping that I'd find you again! I missed you all so much!"

"Uh, don't take this the wrong way...Sora...but I can't exactly say the same."

Sora thought for a couple seconds, then slowly nodded, understanding what he meant.

As they finally made their way back to the television that the group had originally exited from, Izzy's attention suddenly switched to the gift in Sora's arms.

"Umm...what's that?" he asked, pointing.

Sora looked down at the gift, and quickly blushed a bit.

"Wh...this? Oh, uh...well, it...no, it's secret!" she said hastily, cutely sticking her tongue out.

"Uh, okay...whatever you say...oh, here we are! Here's the television!"

"This is it...the moment of truth..."

"Let's give it a shot!"

* * *

A very thirsty Mimi slurped up some nice cool water from one of the school water fountains nearby the computer room. Her ears quickly activated as she heard two faint voices (coming from out of nowhere) yelling. As she listened more, the sounds became clearer. And she immediately knew what was going on.

"Oh, they're back!" she said to herself, returning to the computer room to greet them. But it wasn't exactly going to be who she thought it was...

"Izzy! Sora! Welcome ba-huh?!"

Her senses shut down as she cause sight of "what" Izzy had brought home with him.

"Sora?! Wh...what happened to **you?!**"

"Hey, guys!" yelled another familiar voice, belonging to Matt.

"Matt??" went a half-surprised Izzy. "What are you doing back here?"

"Oh, I meant to ask you about tomorrow's test...**WHAT THE!? SORA??** What in the world...are you **okay!?**"

Matt reacted more intensely than Mimi did, but just as fast. But that was to be expected if one comes into a room with their girlfriend looking like they just went five and a half rounds with Godzilla.

"Geez, you all **right??**"he went, quickly wrapping his arms around Sora in alarm.

But THIS Sora pulled away just as fast.

"Get your arms off me, creep! Just who do you think you are anyway??"

Izzy decided to step in to prevent any further confrontations.

"Sora, calm down! It's just **Matt**, remember? And here's Mimi."

Once again, Sora was happily reunited with two more of her friends. And like Izzy she gave them each a hug. Nevertheless, Matt was still pretty dumbfounded by whatever was going on.

"Izzy, if you've done anything to Sora...!"

"Matt, Matt! Take it easy! Listen to me...this isn't who you think it is!"

"You mean...this ISN'T Sora?" asked a disbelieving Mimi.

"Izzy, would mind telling us what the heck is going on??" asked Matt.

"To make the long story short, me and the others tried to track down the energy signal I detected earlier today, and we found...this."

Sora shot Izzy a funny look.

"What exactly am I to you...a science experiment, or a hamster?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that." Izzy replied, laughing a little.

It took some faith and patience, but Izzy and Sora managed to successfully convince and Matt and Mimi about what was happening.

"So, where will you be staying, Sora?" Matt asked. "That is, it WOULD be kinda awkward for you to just stroll into your home and let your parents know that they've suddenly had **twins.**"

Sora scratched her head at the realization of Matt's words.

"Uhh, gee...y'know, I hadn't really thought about that..."

"And you won't have to, either!" Mimi happily chirped. "Sora, your staying with me and I won't take 'no' for a answer!"

"What?!" went Matt, caught off guard for a second. "But Mimi, you're only here on vacation. How long can-"

"Long enough to help Sora get back on her feet," Mimi firmly replied.

"Umm...thanks," said Sora, a bit stunned by Mimi's generous offer.

She became even more stunned when she got a good look out the window.

For the first time in four years, Sora experienced her first glance at the "real world." It was still pretty much as she remembered. From the school window, she saw many things throughout Odaiba. Sora smiled as she witnessed cars swiftly racing up and down the streets, children running around and playing with each other, while adults went about their business. This was it! One of her greatest dreams – finally making it home – had been achieved, and Sora was happier than she thought she would be.

"Wow..." she went, still accepting the undeniable fact that she was-

"HOME! I...I'm home!" she almost yelled. She couldn't do anything but smile.

"Hey, hold up," Matt interrupted. "Where are all the others?"

"Back in Etemon's pyramid, where else?" Izzy responded. "And speaking of which, I'd better contact the rest of our friends and let them know what's going on...but first..."

Everyone grew curious as Izzy held up one of the devices Ken had delivered earlier, and motioned for Sora to come over and sit in the chair. She did as she was told, while Izzy set down the device on a nearby table and clicked a few buttons on its panel. Immediately, a small beam of light streamed out of its lens and struck Sora. The beam of light stretched out to a wide one, and continuously changed color from second to second, as it kept moving up and down Sora's body.

"Uhh, Izzy? What are you doing?"

"Don't worry, it's only a advanced genetic tester that I managed to obtain. The ray being emitted upon you is a powerful, but harmless laser that will scan your body and its DNA. Once it's done, your DNA will be recorded on its miniature computer."

"Oh...then what?"

"Well, after your...counterpart returns, I'll use it to scan her. Then I'll compare both of your DNA patterns to see if they match."

"Umm...okay, then. I have nothing to hide," Sora said, shrugging. "I mean, I **know** who I am. But are you sure that this contraption isn't gonna burn my hair off?"

"Positive," Izzy assured her. "It's no more harmful than an X-ray scan. Just try not to move."

"You're **sure** this won't hurt?"

"Trust me. Won't even itch."

"If you say so."

Izzy smiled and nodded. "Well, if you'll excuse me?"

Sora let her friend tend to sending a message to the others, while she now was face to face with two of her old friends whom she hadn't seen in a long time. Tiny beads of sweat began to trickly down her forehead as Matt and Mimi looked her over with definite suspicion in their eyes. Needless to say, she felt feel like a dissection specimen.

"Okay!" Izzy exclaimed.

"What's the deal, Izzy?" Matt asked.

"I've told everyone else down there of the situation, and Sora says that Mimi should take her double over to her place to pick up some spare clothes."

Mimi and Sora nodded.

"Anything else?" Mimi asked.

"They said that they'll be back in about ten minutes. Davis and Veemon are still...eating."

"Uh-**HUH**...gotcha. Shall we go, Sora?"

"If it's okay with Izzy here."

Izzy turned his head. "Oh, yeah...the scans should be complete by now. Just let me deactivate it."

Walking towards where Sora was sitting Izzy tapped a couple of buttons, and the ray fixed on Sora's body turned off as quickly as it turned on.

"That's it. You're free to go," he went, handing Sora's package to her.

"Thanks, Izzy. Let's go, Mimi."

Mimi smiled and took Sora's hand, giving it a playful squeeze. The two girls giggled and swiftly exited the school.

Matt sighed and ran his hand through his blonde hair.

"So whaddya think?" he asked.

"Think about what?" Izzy asked back.

"If she's really who she says she is."

"If you want my personal opinion, then the truth is...my mental acquisitiveness - however immense - has categorically been piqued, but not complacent. I haven't aggregated a sufficient abundance of erudition to warrent a circumspect denouement...much less an elucidation, preferrably comprehensive and coherent."

"Huh?!"

"I'm not sure at this point."

"Oh."

However, Matt continued to display his confusion.

"It doesn't make sense! I mean...I know Sora got kidnapped by Datamon, who tried to copy her in order to control the power of her crest, as well as Biyomon. But we managed to get her outta there, so the question is...how could there possibly be an exact double of her living down there?!"

"I can't even begin to hypothesize until I can figure out how this all happened in the first place. But as far as that girl is concerned...she's telling the truth. At least she thinks she is. She appears to have Sora's physical features, as well as some of her memories."

"So what do we do now?"

"I'm gonna go back down there and take one more crack at that pyramid's computer. It might somehow be able to make some sense how all of this happened."

"Well, Izzy...I wish you the best of luck. Because I also wouldn't exactly mind hearing how this happened!"

* * *

"So, um...Sora, uh...how have you been?" Mimi asked on the way to Sora's apartment.

"Just fine, thanks. And you?"

"Uhh...just fine. Peachy even."

"It's okay, Mimi...you don't have to pretend like you just saw me yesterday. It's been a while since I've seen any of you."

Mimi nodded and then pointed.

"Oh, look! We're here!"

Sora was forced to close her eyes a bit from the sun and looked up at the apartment building where she (once) lived.

In no time, they were at the doorstep. But now Sora seemed reluctant to knock on the door, and Mimi couldn't figure out why. Instead, Sora suddenly remembered that a spare door key was kept under the "WELCOME" mat. And she was right.

The door opened and the two girls were inside.

"Hello?" Sora yelled. "Good, Mom's not home."

"Huh? Why's that?" asked Mimi.

Sora shook her head. "Forget it."

"Well, if I recall...your bedroom's over here," Mimi said, pointing to a door.

Sora opened it and whistled. Not too much had changed and everything still seemed to be in place. Except for that one thing that used to be on top of her dresser...

"Hey, Sora! Are you gonna pick some clothes or what?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Right..."

Sora did indeed pick out some clothes but at the same time, and decided not to be picky about what she chose. All she took were a group of white socks, a few blue jeans, ordinary T-shirts, and a few pairs of "you-know-what."

"Hmm..." was all that came out of Mimi as she looked through Sora's closet.

"What is it, Mimi?"

"Nothing, just...uh, you sure you don't wanna bring along a couple dresses?"

"You're kidding, right? My double actually owns some dresses?"

"Well, yeah."

"I bet you'll be the Queen of England before I'm caught dead wearing one of those!" Sora partially joked.

Mimi giggled a little bit as put the clothes Sora gathered into a small plastic bag.

Sora locked her front door as they exited her home. She then placed the door key back under the mat. Mimi wasted no time getting chatty as they now headed for Mimi's home.

"...and there you have it."

"So you really moved all the way to America? Then who's living back at your old apartment?"

"My aunt moved in there a while ago. She's been taking pretty good care of it ever since my family moved away."

"I see. Matt said that you were here on vacation, right? How long will you be staying?"

"Long enough," Mimi stated, not wanting to think about the partially sad and stressful concept of constantly traveling back and forth between America and Japan.

Sora nodded as they crossed the street.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the crosswalk...

"I'd love to chat away the day, but I need to get back to my home, not to mention my flower shop."

"Well...nice talking to you, dear!"

Sora's mother, Mrs. Takenouchi, waved goodbye to her friend as she prepared to cross the street. Unfortunately, while crossing, she accidentally bumped the shoulder of a girl. Though they didn't get a good look at each other, quick apologies were made even as they kept on walking...

"Oof! Excuse me..."

"Oh...I'm sorry, dear!"

"So anyway, Mimi, go on..."

Mrs. Takenouchi kept on walking for a few more seconds until the full realization of just WHO she may have accidentally bumped into crossed her mind. Stopping dead in her tracks, she immediately whipped her head around to see if she was correct. But that girl and her friend were long out of sight by now.

"Nah," Mrs. Takenouchi went, as she quickly shook her head and walked on.

**

* * *

**

TO BE CONTINUED...

Yep, that's it! Sorry that Tai was once again missing, but worry not! He makes his valiant, dignified (yeah, right) return next chapter! And so do the other Digidestined! Bye, bye!

P.S. You wanna see what happens next? Then I'll need at least five more reviews! Later!

_

* * *

_

"So what have we learned today, Mr. Disclaimer?"

_"We've learned that I don't own Digimon, I never have, and I never will!"_

_"Well, I suppose it's a start..."_


	4. Welcome Back!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon...oops! Wrong show! I meant Digimon! **DIGIMON!!**

It seemed to be an innocent trip into for Izzy and some of the other Digidestined when they decided to investigate a strange energy source coming from somewhere in the Digital World. But things turned strange when they discovered a double of Sora Takenouchi living in Etemon's pyramid. This "other" Sora had identical features and similar memories of past events regarding the Digidestined's first adventure into the Digital World. Izzy brought her back to the real world and examined her. Mimi, who was visiting, offered to have Sora "room" with her at her old apartment. Izzy then returned to the Digital World in order to find any possible existing evidence concerning the origin of the "second" Sora.

**Digimon - Second Chances For Sora**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 4 - Welcome Back!

"This is it!" Mimi beamed as she almost slammed open the front door of her apartment.

"Uh, Mimi..." asked Sora. "Are you **sure** that it's okay with your aunt if I stay here for a while?"

"Oh, don't worry your pretty little head about it, Sor. My aunt is hardly ever here. She's a busy woman, usually out on business meetings and stuff. So she probably wouldn't mind much if I had friends stay over."

"But I don't even know how long I'll be-"

"Trust me, Sora...my aunt'll be cool about the whole thing."

"Well, okay...if you're sure."

Mimi closed her eyes, smiled, and nodded almost vigorously.

"So, you hungry?"

Before the sentence was completely out of Mimi's mouth, Sora could already feel and hear her stomach growling. Even Mimi heard it. Sora blushed a bit, as this **was** a little embarrassing.

"Umm, I guess I am...a little. I haven't eaten very much in about two days," she said holding her stomach with one hand.

Mimi nervously giggled. "Well, you're in luck, Sora! Lately I've been turning out to be a **great** cook!"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Mm-hm! So in celebration for your coming home, I'll make a small feast for the two of us! The sky's the limit, so **whatever** you want, you can have it! Is there any specific dish you'd like me to make for you?"

"Oh, I'm in the mood for just about **anything** right now...surprise me."

"Okay! But you'd better clean up first! The shower is through the second door on the left. Complete with towels, soap, shampoo...everything you need."

Sora briefly looked over herself in a nearby mirror. "Hmm, yeah...I guess I do look pretty dirty. Thanks, Mimi."

"Don't worry, Sor! I'll start cooking while you take a nice, hot bath!"

"Actually, I think a nice, hot **shower** will do. Besides, the sooner I'm done, the sooner I can **eat!**"

"Hmm, good point!"

"Thanks again, Mimi!" said Sora, entering the bathroom.

Mimi happily sighed and giggled.

"I'm such a good girl," she said to herself, and pulling out a cookbook.

* * *

Izzy once again was crouched over at a computer. The only differences were that this time, it was Izzy's own laptop, and in the comfort of his own home. Joe and Ken were invited over to give a second (and possible third) opinion on what had occurred previously in the last hour or so. Though the two of them were thoroughly informed of the situation, Ken and Joe were still pretty amazed.

"Boy, Izzy...from what you've told me, this is **way** too bizarre. **Two** Soras?!" said Ken.

"Yeah, and that's not the only strange thing that's been going on!" Izzy replied.

"Did Ken's genetic testers draw any conclusion?" Joe asked.

"It's still comparing Sora's DNA and structural cell patterns to her double's. In another half hour, the tests will be complete, and then we'll be able to find out who this girl **truly** is."

"You really think that she's someone else?"

"Believe me, I'd like to think that she's telling the truth, but we've been fooled too often before. Like you've said before, it's always better to be safe than sorry."

"Keep in mind, that back then I used to be a nervous hypochondriac."

Izzy and Ken flashed a half-smile and turned their attention to the screen of Izzy's laptop.

"So what are you doing now, Izzy?" Ken inquired.

"Well, I just can't seem to turn my attention away from Etemon's pyramid. It seems that I learn something new and fascinating every time that I...**wait** a second."

"Something wrong?" went Joe.

"Not exactly," said Izzy. "But I've picked up another energy signal coming from the pyramid. Not from a digivice, but-"

"Should we tell the others about this, too?"

"No, not yet. I want to gather as much information as possible before telling anyone else. Anyway, guys...we need to make some calls. Get the others over here. They at least deserve to know about Sora's double. That is, if the tests turn 'positive' and all."

Joe and Ken nodded, and made their way to the phone.

* * *

Sora walked into the room, with a light pink towel around her body, and another small one around her hair. Though certainly drier than when she stepped out of the shower, tiny beads of water could still be seen slowly crawling down her skin.

Mimi turned around to face her friend.

"Hey, Sora!"

"Hi, Mimi. How's that dinner coming along?"

"It's, thanks. Sit down at the table, and I'll tend to your hair."

"Okay."

Sora unraveled the smaller towel around her head, and waved her hair back and forth a couple times.

"Ooh, Sora...your hair has gotten a little longer. I'm surprised I didn't notice it before."

"Yeah...hey, you wouldn't happen to be a good hairdresser, would you?"

"Well, not professionally. But I've given some of my friends in America a few makeovers before."

"Then, uh...would you...?"

"Shorten your hair a bit? Of course!"

Sora picked up her old pair of jeans, and pulled a small pink wallet out of one of the back pockets. Inside the wallet was an old photo of her at age eleven. She wasn't dressed up, but she also wasn't wearing her lucky helmet, in which the photo gave a good, clear shot of her "old" hairstyle. She showed the picture to Mimi.

"Not a bad photo," she said, starting to squint her eyes and scratching her chin. "But I think you would've looked much more cute with a dress on."

Sora shot her a wry smile.

"Don't even start. Anyway, I'd prefer it if my hair were about as short as it is in that picture. I never liked growing it long. "

Mimi smiled as well.

"No problem...just let me fetch some scissors, a brush, and a comb."

Within the next ten minutes, Mimi went to work on "fixing up" Sora's hair. Mimi cutely hummed a tune to herself while she cut, combed and brushed .

_Wow_, Sora thought. _Mimi really seems to know what she's doing. She's cutting and combing my hair like those pros at the mall my mom used to drag me to..._

"There!" Mimi exclaimed finally, holding up a small mirror for Sora to look into. "How's that?"

"Hey, not bad!" Sora happily replied. "Your own opinion of your hair dressing skills doesn't do you justice."

"I'll take that as a complement and a 'thank you' at the same time. Anyhoo, the food's nearly ready, so go get dressed."

Sora nodded and pulled a set of clothes from the bag taken from home.

**

* * *

**

RRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!

The ever-insistent telephone rang at the Kamiya's. Kari and Tai picked up different phones. It turned out to be Joe, so neither Kamiya would have to hang up.

"Hello?" went Joe.

"That you, Joe?" asked Tai.

"Uh huh. Look, I'll be brief. I need you and Kari to quickly head over to Izzy's right now. Is that workable?"

"Uh, yeah..." said Kari, with some hesitation clearly in her voice. "But it would be easier if you could tell us what's so important."

"Sorry, Kari. But I think I'll let Izzy explain it when you two arrive. See you later!"

**CLICK!**

"Well, that was short," Tai noted.

"He sounded kind of anxious, though. Let's go see what Izzy wants," Kari added.

And with that, the Kamiya children immediately put on their sneakers and headed out the door.

* * *

The phone rang at Mimi's place, as well. Mimi quickly set down a plate full of food on the table, and grabbed a portable phone.

"Hello? Oh...hi, Izzy!"

Sora stepped into the room, while putting on a yellow T-shirt (with a pocket on the left side), just in time to hear Mimi to chatting away.

"Yes, she's right here...no, I'm...no, not at all...uh, huh...uh, huh...yes, of course...everyone's meeting there...well, yeah...sure, I could..."

Sora didn't know why, but Mimi briefly put the mouthpiece of the phone against her arm, glanced at her, then spoke back into the receiver.

"Actually, she's pretty tired...AND hungry...yeah, I...okay...okay...all right, then...yeah, I'll be over as soon as I can...uh, huh...sure! Yeah, you too...! Bye!"

With the sound of small beep, Mimi turned off the phone and took a second, closer glance to her friend.

"Sora! Now THAT'S what I call an improvement! You're looking much more together!"

Sora once again glanced at her own reflection in a mirror and realized that Mimi was right. She was wearing a new shirt, a fresh pair of blue jeans, and clear, white socks.

"So who were you talking to?" she asked.

"Oh, that was Izzy. He wants me to head over to his apartment for a meeting with the others. He asked if you felt well enough to come along, but I told him that you were too tired."

"Well, it **would** be nice to join you and see everyone else...but then again, I **am** getting hungry."

"Help yourself, then," Mimi said cheerfully. "The food's ready and waiting to be eaten! Sorry I won't be able to eat it with you. I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"

"Gotcha, it's cool."

"Oh, yeah! Izzy said for you to give me your digivice. He wants to take another shot at fixing it."

Sora nodded and handed over her broken digivice to Mimi, then immediately and eagerly sat down at the table to eat. She rubbed her hands together, wondering what tasty morsel she should sink her teeth into first. Mimi was now sitting down by the door, tying her sneakers.

Suddenly, Sora remembered something important and quickly called out to Mimi right before she walked out the door.

"Oh, wait! Mimi?!"

"What is it?"

"Umm...well, while you're there...I want you to say 'hi' to someone for me..."

"No problem. Who?"

* * *

Tai and Kari were glad to see everyone together again as they entered Izzy's home, minus Davis and Cody who went to visit Yolei, being very much sick. Mimi's unexpected return was a small cause for celebration. Those who didn't know of her visiting were extremely glad and greeted the girl warmly with open arms.

After the excitement of her reunion died down, Izzy informed everyone about Sora's twin were pretty stunned. Curiosity permeated their minds, Tai especially. Upon the unbanning of this news, he was shocked into utter silence for some unknown reason.

"I...I can't believe what I'm hearing!" T.K. exclaimed. "Man, do I wish I'd missed basketball practice today!"

"Even though you already told me, Izzy, I still can't imagine such a thing!" Joe declared. "I mean...there are actually-"

"TWO Soras?" Kari finished for him.

The Kamiya daughter suddenly wondered how this would affect her big brother, who was sitting next to her on the right, so she glanced up at his face. He didn't look sad, nor did he have a reason to be. But he definitely looked like he was deep in thought, with his arms crossed. And yet he still heard every word that Izzy had said.

"Hey..." she whispered to him. "You okay, big bro?"

"Huh?" he went, jerking his head and eyes towards her. "Oh, uh...yeah, I'm fine. I'm just...trying to take this all in."

Kari nodded, put her right arm around his left, and then leaned her head against him. In a roundabout way, she was trying to comfort Tai, who briefly averted his gaze to her, and couldn't resist smiling. He then too wrapped his own arm around her.

Meanwhile, everyone else was asking all kind of questions at once about how this happened, and where this second Sora came from.

"AHEM!!" went a familiar voice.

Everyone went silent as Ken cleared his throat, and pulled out what looked like a single sheet of computer paper. There was clearly quite a bit of data printed out, but no one could read it from wherre they were sitting.

"Now, if you would please refrain from your family squabble for a moment, I'd like your undivided attention."

"What's up, Ken?" asked Matt.

"I've ran a couple more tests with my equipment, and I've reached the same conclusion over and over. So without further ado, here are the test results. The DNA of Sora and her counterpart are..."

Sora held her breath while Matt held her hand.

"...identical."

"Ooh..." Sora, **very** stressed out by now, bent over and rubbed her temples.

Matt rolled his eyes and very gently patted Sora on the back.

"I...I just can't...WON'T believe it! There's gotta be some mistake...!"

"And why should there be some mistake, Sora?" asked Kari in a VERY sharp tone, full of conviction that snapped everyone's attention to her. Sora stared (wide-eyed) at Kari, who was "supposed" to be sweet, kind, and usually gentle.

"I'm all ears, Sora. Tell me, what's the reason that she CAN'T be real?"

Sora heard every bit of what Kari said, but could give no answer. Instead, she focused her attention on Izzy.

"Wait a minute! When Datamon kidnapped me, he tried to make a copy of me in order to control Biyomon! Could that girl be..."

"Is that even possible, Izzy?" asked Matt. "Could that copy have somehow survived?"

Izzy and Ken looked at each other, and quickly shook their heads.

"No, that duplicate was created IN the Digital World. Usually anything originating from there would be marked with some sort of faint digital signature, like our digivices are. We used Ken's devices to see if we could find one. There wasn't any."

Sora sighed in utter confusion.

"This is giving me a headache."

"So then...how did this happen?" Tai asked.

Izzy sighed too, and shook his head. "I still haven't been able to piece it together, but even though Sora's twin isn't the same copy that Datamon tried to create, Ken and I have reason to believe that he DID have something to do with this. However, this is still pretty inconclusive."

Izzy and Ken briefly went into the next room, and pulled out some very old, rusty, and inoperative-looking pieces of machinery.

"These are some remains of the apparatus used on Sora by Datamon. He needed them to scan her body to create a replica of her image, provided that his little 'experiment' eventually worked out. When they were activated, it generated an unusual variety of radiation, unknown to Earth."

Everyone was clearly listening. Izzy paused briefly, thinking about how nice it was that he actually had their complete attention for once.

"From everything I've been able to gather so far, the radiation did something strange when it struck Sora..."

"Yeah..." Sora added, slowly beginning to remember. "When the radiation hit me, my body felt weird...I felt hot, dizzy, nauseous...and it was like my entire body was beginning to...split in two or something."

"Well, you probably had good reason to feel as sick as you did," Ken said.

"Yeah, those symptoms were probably just some side effects of the machine recording your image, inside and out, similar to Ken's contraptions," Joe added.

"But I didn't feel any pain when that was used on me," Sora noted.

"Datamon and his machines were arguably more grotesque than Ken's," said Izzy. "Do you honestly think that he was concerned about bedside manner?"

Ken decided to jump in and keep talking about what really mattered here.

"Anyway, we don't pretend to know how this happened. But what we do know that something happened during the original destruction of the pyramid. Somehow, the radiation inside Sora's body, though dissipating, rendered her body susceptible to all kinds of different side effects. Possibly the combination of that and energy exchange of fire between sides actually SPLIT Sora in two."

"Not actually splitting her body in **half**-" Izzy started to say.

"But separating her into two different people." Matt finished.

"Well, like it or not, she's here now, and after meeting her up close, she seems VERY real to me," Mimi noted.

"Yeah!" said Tai, finally joining the conversation. "Look, whether she's real or not, that doesn't change the fact that she's like us...she's a **Digidestined!** We have to respect that and treat her with the same consideration and dignity that we would with...THIS Sora."

Everyone was silent, but nodded in agreement. Except the person in question.

"I just don't know," she said suspiciously, more to herself than anyone else. "Can we really trust her? I mean...sure, she had a convincing story, but it's just not-"

"I think Tai's right!" Matt said almost vigorously, jumping in.

"HUH??" everyone said, shocked that Matt agreed with Tai.

"What?! I got something up my nose?? Anyway, Tai has a point. Granted, we **have** been deceived before, but '**she**'hasn't given us a reason to doubt her yet."

Everyone nodded again, took a deep breath and prepared to leave.

"Good, then it's settled," Izzy said firmly, but smiling. "In ther meantime, I'm gonna keep trying to gather more data on that pyramid, so if any of you would like to stay a little while longer to observe, feel free to do so."

"Sorry, Iz, but I got band practice," Matt apologized.

"Yeah, and I have a tennis lesson today," added Sora.

"Umm, T.K. and I had plans," Kari said, somewhat shyly.

"T.K., you **stud!**" Matt said, gently and playfully elbowing his little brother, who was blushing furiously.

"H-hey! Knock it off, bro!" he said nervously, obviously embarrassed.

"Well, I should probably get back and check on Sora, but I can stay a little while longer," Mimi said.

"I gotta get going, too," said Tai.

"Hold on, Tai..."

"What's up, Mimi?"

"You think you could make a stop by my place and say hello to Sora? I **know** that she'd really like to see you," she asked, taking Tai's hand.

Tai had a somewhat uncomfortable feeling in the back of his head, and something was telling him that going to visit Sora wouldn't be such a great idea. So he prepared to tell her "I'm sorry, but I can't."

"Sure, Mimi...I'll go," Tai said nervously.

Mimi smiled sweetly. "Thanks, Tai...I KNEW you'd see things my way."

"Uh, huh...now could you kindly let go of my hand?"

The perky girl continued to smile, and giggled as she let go of piece of skin on the back of his hand that she was pinching...**tightly.**

As soon as she turned away, Tai fell to his knees and grasped his hand, trying not to yell out in pain. Kari, Matt and T.K. saw this and laughed.

Sora saw this scene and rolled her eyes as she prepared to leave. It agitated her at how Tai was so reluctant to visit her double.

Thankfully, Tai hadn't heard what Sora said next...but Kari did. And it made her **MAD.**

"I don't believe this...Tai STILL isn't over me and Matt? Why doesn't he just grow-"

"**SORA, SHUT UP!!**"

"Sweet n' innocent, little Kari" looked angrier than she'd ever been in her entire life. And she was. Everyone took a step back, except Sora, who stood still in complete shock by Kari's raging outburst.

"K...Kari?" Tai and Sora timidly asked.

Everybody except Sora took another step back as Kari moved forward to face her, firmly locking eyes.

"Sora, that's **it!** I've had it with this lousy attitude of yours towards my brother! He doesn't deserve to be treated this way at **all!** Tai's put himself on the line for me, for the rest of us, for the fate of two worlds...and especially for **you** more times than I can remember!!"

"But Kari-"

"**Don't** you 'but Kari' me!" Kari angrily interrupted. "Now you listen up and you listen good! Because I'm only going to say this **once.**"

Everyone held their breath as Kari slowly came closer to Sora until the two girls' noses were almost touching. Her next five words came in a whispering, yet chilling tone...

"Stay away from my brother."

Kari swiftly and coldly turned away and prepared to leave. Matt came from behind and tried to comfort his girlfriend, putting his hands on Sora's shoulders. Unfortunately, it was somewhat irritating to have someone younger and shorter telling you what and what not to do. Sora's next response came from annoyance to Kari's outburst, rather than emotional hurt. Glaring at younger Kamiya sibling, she vocalized a question which would prove to be most definitely **not** the smartest thing to say...

"And what if I don't stay away?"

Though still turned away, her single heavy breath couldn't be masked. Her eyes widened and her face turned red with anger. And before anyone knew it-

**SMACK!!**

Tai went wide-eyed and Mimi covered her mouth with both hands at what just occurred.

Everyone else gasped as Sora fell to the ground, her face (specifically her eyes) seemingly shrouded in shadow. She slowly put her hand to her red cheek, stinging with pain, from where Kari had harshly slapped her. A single tear immediately appeared, crawling down that same cheek.

"If you **don't** leave him alone...or if something horrible happens to my brother because of you...I will **NEVER** forgive you!!"

By now, it was becoming increasingly difficult for Kari to hide her own tears, so without another word, she pushed everyone (in her way) aside, and slammed the door closed.

"Kari, wait...!" T.K. said, following her.

Matt pulled Sora up from the floor and asked if she was okay. Sora said absolutely nothing, gently wrestled herself out of his grip and left, too.

"What are you standing around here for?" Tai asked Matt. "Go after her!"

"Huh?! Oh...uh, r-right!" Matt replied, hurrying out the door.

Though still in shock from what Kari had done, Matt bore no ill will towards Kari.

Mimi once again took Tai aside. But this time, it was to ask about his little sister.

"Tai...is...is your sister...?" Mimi tried to ask.

"I don't know...it's just that...things are kinda complicated right now. I'll talk to her-" he sighed, preparing to leave.

But Mimi grabbed him by the back of his collar before he could take another step.

"-AFTER you talk with the other Sora first, **right?**"

"Uh...right, Meems...of course..." Tai agreed.

"Of **course**," Mimi echoed, in that all-too familiar "silent but deadly" sweet voice.

* * *

Sora, who was now a lot more cheerful, took another bite out of the delicious meal Mimi had prepared for her. Setting aside some food for Mimi was hard, considering that Sora had barely eaten anything for a while. At the same time, she tried not make a pig out of herself while she chewed.

_I'm so glad I was finally able to leave the Digital World__**!**_, Sora excitedly thought while chewing. _I can't believe I'm actually home! And tomorrow...well, who knows __**what**__ tomorrow will be like...I just wish that-_

**KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!**

Sora briefly glanced up at the door, realizing who (she thought) was at the door.

"It's open, Mimi."

The female went back to her dinner, not watching as the door slowly opened.

"So how did it go at the meeting?"

"Hey there, Sora."

Sora immediately dropped her fork and her eyes opened further than ever before in her entire life at the realization of WHO was calling her name. She took a deep breath and glanced up and couldn't believe who standing before her...

Tai Kamiya.

Sora could barely speak, but she summoned each and every remaining ounce of her strength to try.

"T...T...T...Tai?" she said, quickly becoming misty-eyed.

"Hi, Sor...long time no see."

**

* * *

**

TO BE CONTINUED!

DAMN!! Finally finished! Whoo-baby! I apologize if you had to wait long, but I haven't had too much time to write...y'know, school and whatnot! But I'm on vacation for two weeks now, so hopefully I'll get the next chapter out soon! Well, you know what you have to do, so go to it, loonies and jellybeans! Ha, ha! See ya!

P.S. Oh, and by the way...have any of you seen Mr. Disclaimer? I think he **ditched** me...!


	5. Meeting Again for the First Time

"_Since Mr. Disclaimer isn't __**here**__, then I guess it's my job to say that-"_

"_**Idon'townDigimon!!**__ Later!"_

"_Wha...__**YOU SNEAK!!**__ Get back here!"_

**Digimon - Second Chances For Sora**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 5 - Meeting Again for the First Time

Tai Kamiya couldn't believe his eyes. There she was, innocently sitting at the table, staring back with the eyes that held a substantial amount of amazement, happiness and...love.

Sora Takenouchi held her breath as she tried hard to realize that HE was here. Her best friend in the whole wide world, whether it was on Earth or the Digital world, was HERE. Four long, lonely years spent without seeing him might as well have been an eternity, but she still immediately recognized him. Sora slowly stood up and walked over to Tai, who cautiously took a half-step back.

But the answer to one simple question evaded the both of them. Why were they hesitant about...reaching out? Sora decided to break the ice and make the first move.

"T...Tai? Is...is it really you?"

"Uh...y-yeah...yeah, it's me. I mean...who else would I be?" he said somewhat weakly, giving off a nervous laugh.

As of now, Sora could no longer control her emotions, or her physical actions. Tai gulped as she continued to stare at him. Her eyes, now full of warm, joyful tears, wasted no time in streaming down her soft cheeks.

"TAI!!" she happily cried out, moving quicker than any rabid wild animal Tai had seen.

Sora grabbed onto Tai, wrapped her arms around him, and gave him a bear hug, burying her teary face in his chest. Needless to say, Tai was pretty surprised, going wide-eyed but at the same time, lightly and loosely putting one arm around her, and using his other hand to tenderly pat her head.

He almost yelled in shock, as he slowly realized that Sora closed her eyes and was attempting to give him a soft, affectionate kiss.

For months he deeply longed to feel the lovely bittersweet taste of her lips willingly pressed against his, but the "incident" at Christmas changed all that. And considering the way Sora felt about him now (as well as everything else she'd done to inadvertently hurt him), he forced himself to resist the girl's advances.

"S-Sora, what are you doing??" Tai almost sputtered.

Naturally, Sora was somewhat taken aback due to the fact that the love of her life just resisted her ever so strongly, but she tried to remain calm, and make sense of the situation.

"Well, I was trying to **kiss** you, that's what!" she said, still with a certain amount glee in her voice.

"Look, I-"

"C'mon, Tai...it's been **four** years since we've seen each other!" she cried, through tears of joy. "You **can't** tell me that you haven't missed me!"

"I-it's not that, Sor...it's just, well...until a little while ago, I had no idea you even existed!" Tai protested.

At first Sora thought that he was joking, but she quickly understood. Yet, she still maintained her grip on him, though loosening it a little.

"Oh, Tai..." she nearly sobbed. "I almost completely lost hope that I'd see your face again...it's dreaming of this moment that's kept me going. I missed you so much," she finished with a sigh.

"Sora..." Tai said firmly. "Please let go of me."

"Wh...what's wrong?"

"There's...something you should know."

* * *

"There it is!" Izzy hollered to Joe and Ken.

"There's what?" Joe asked.

"The signal inside Etemon's pyramid. I've caught it again. And it's stronger now...more intense."

"Still don't know what it is yet?" asked Mimi.

Izzy sighed and shook his head.

"No...but that's not exactly what I'm worried about. What bothers me is that this is the second signal I've discovered today."

"So?"

"**So**, Mimi...that's too odd to be a coincidence. I'm concerned that our little 'friend' from the Digital World isn't quite what she appears to be."

"But you see no evidence of that so far..." Ken noted.

"True, I don't have any concrete proof, but I'm still worried..."

"Well, until you **do** find something incriminating..." Mimi gently mocked, "...we should forget about it for now."

"Even so, you should keep an eye on her, Mimi," Izzy suggested.

"I will do **no** such thing!" she replied almost angrily, putting her hands on her hips. "Sora was...I mean, IS my friend and I will not go snooping around, pumping her for information!"

"All I'm saying is be careful."

"Thank you...I will. But don't go accusing her of anything until you have **proof!** Now...since just about everybody else has left, I'm going home, too. Later, boys!"

Izzy watched as she left, then turned to his two friends.

"Okay, guys...we all agree that **girls** will be the topic for our next science project?"

* * *

Back at Mimi's, Tai and Sora had calmly sat down. It wasn't easy at all, but Tai had successfully managed to explain the existence of **two** Soras, and also...the exact reason why he had pulled away from Sora.

Sora was stunned at the fact that her double would even consider falling in love with someone other than Tai.

"So **Matt's** her boyfriend now?"

"Uh huh," Tai nodded, without displaying much emotion on his face.

"So **that's** why he hugged me so tightly when he saw me...!" Sora concluded.

"Anyway, that was about six months ago, during Christmas..."

_Ouch_, Sora thought. _That's GOTTA hurt._

"...but I've gotten over it all now," he lied.

Being Tai's friend, Sora could **always** detect his lies the second they exited his mouth. But as curious as she was, Sora was hesitant to press Tai for answers.

"Oh, **have** you?" she asked suspiciously.

Tai put on his best fake smile and nodded.

"I mean, it could be worse...she and I still friends-"

"And you're **completely** okay with this?" Sora interrupted.

"Things...things are fine the way they are right now."

Everything Tai said so far made Sora uncomfortable, among other things. But what he said next nearly broke her heart...

With a somewhat sad smile, he finished her off by slowly (and painfully) saying...

"It's simple, Sora. I just don't...really feel much for her anymore...in '**that**' way, I mean."

Sora's eyes opened further than they ever had before. She was absolutely, positively, and completely speechless. She couldn't...and **wouldn't** believe it. Despite that, the poor girl was still shocked into silence. The only thing she could do was to continue reaching out to her beloved...

"But...**I** still do."

Tai shook his head. Sora took this as a sign that she was quickly losing this debate, but she'd never been one to give up easily.

"I have feelings for you, I always have..." she argued. "Doesn't that count for **something?!**"

Tai stared into the wooden surface of the table they were sitting at. Hesitantly, he placed his warm hand on Sora's shoulder.

"Look, uh...you've had a long day, so I think I'll just, um...let you rest for a while..."

The only response Tai got back was a pair beautiful eyes staring into his, piercing his state of mind with their fixed and unchanging expression of sadness and extreme confusion.

As Tai got up out of his seat, he started towards the front door. But he took one more look at Sora. It was getting harder and harder to look at her these days. But he had to make sure of one more thing...

"Are...are you...**mad** at me?"

Sora wouldn't look at him. Still sitting she had turned her head away from him.

"I could never be mad at you, Tai..."

Tai reached for the doorknob, but stopped in his tracks when she continued speaking.

"...I **love** you."

Tai's eyes exhibited a very worried look, but he **had** to leave now.

As the door closed, Sora just sat there in sadness, not wanting to reveal her eyes to anyone or anything. And something in the back of her mind was telling her that she wasn't alone in that respect.

* * *

Sora wandered around in sadness, not wanting reveal her eyes to anyone or anything. Her mind was so lost in thought that she barely noticed the hand that firmly placed on her shoulder.

"Sora?" asked the gentle voice.

"Hi, Matt."

The blonde was clearly taken aback that she already knew that he was there. Nevertheless, he took a deep breath and tried to comfort her in what had happened.

"Are you **okay?** After you left Izzy's, I couldn't find you. And when I called up your mom, she said that there was a call from the tennis courts saying you never showed up."

"I know, Matt...I...I skipped tennis today. I needed to take a walk..."

Matt out his hands on her shoulders and tried to look into her eyes.

"Sora, please tell me what's wrong...does this have to do with Kari?"

"Y-yeah..." Sora said with a partially broken voice. She immediately looked away from Matt and slowly put her hand against her red, bruised cheek, which still stung with raw pain. In her opinion, that stupid Kari did **not** know her own strength.

"Does it still hurt?" he gently asked.

Sora nodded, like a young child who had just been bullied to the brink of tears. And Matt knew that she might start crying or shouting if he didn't act soon.

Matt took Sora in his arms, not wanting to hear the unbearable sound of a girl's sobs. Sora's sad-looking eyes were wide open (but full of tears) as he held her close. Emotionally, Sora didn't have the strength to hug him back, all the while leaning more and more into Matt's warm chest, letting her tears stain his shirt and her arms droop at the sides.

Matt closed his eyes, sighed and sweetly kissed the top of her head. That was enough to cause Sora to summon the strength to lift her heavy arms and grip onto Matt for more support.

After a few more sniffles and tears, the two teens loosened their grips on each other. Matt used his hand to wipe away some of the tears that were creeping down Sora's cheek.

"I'm sorry that she slapped you," was all that Matt could think of to say.

"That's not the main reason I'm sad," she replied, shaking her head.

"It's not? Then what-"

"It's just that...after I fell to the floor when she slapped me...I looked up at her face..."

"Uh, huh…"

"And when I saw the **look** she gave me...!"

"Go on..."

"All I could see in her eyes was...**hatred.** Pure hatred that was directed...at ME."

* * *

"I hate her! **I hate her!** I HATE HER!!"

T.K. covered his ears briefly at Kari's outburst. It took a few nervous minutes of searching, but he finally found her. After Kari stormed out of Izzy's place in a huff, T.K. did his best to locate her. And he did. She had been in a park, sitting on a bench, crying. And judging from the undeniably monumental and heated circumstances between her and Sora, it was reasonable to assume that her tears wouldn't let up anytime soon.

"Kari, please...don't say that about Sora," T.K. gently said, trying to look into her eyes. "She's your friend."

"I DON'T CARE! I **hate** her...!" Kari replied, strongly maintaining her words.

"You **dislike **her," corrected T.K.

But Kari just buried her face in her hands.

"C'mon, I find it hard to believe that you could ever truly hate Sora...after everything all of us have been through together, it would take a lot for us to go at each other's throats."

"Oh, T.K.! What's **happened** to all of us?"

"I don't understand..."

"It feels like we've all grown apart and drifted away from one another..."

"Whaddya mean? We're still a team! ALL of us! And we're still friends-"

Kari shot her head up at T.K. Though her eyes were still overflowing with tears, she had a look on her face that said-

"Oh, come ON."

T.K. exhaled deeply.

"Weeeeell, **most** of us, anyway," he said rather hastily.

"I'm sorry...but I can't help the way I feel right now," Kari complained.

T.K. sadly sighed hoping thwe worst of this coversation was over, but Kari finally released all of her negative emotions at once...

"T.K., it's not **fair!** Sniff...I...I want...I WANT MY BROTHER BACK!!"

"Shhhhh...it's okay, Kari...we'll fix this somehow...I know we will..."

But Kari couldn't say anything else after that, considering the fact that T.K. pulled her in closer for a caring, loving hug. T.K. hated to see a girl cry, especially this one, but it was the only way he knew to console her. She sighed a little and let herself ease into his embrace. She closed her eyes, and for a little bit – in the short, sweet eternity that they were together – Kari forgot all her troubles.

* * *

Mimi slowly peeked her head into the door of her apartment. She wasn't quite sure as to how this meeting between Tai and Sora would play out, but she figured it'd be best to enter her home quietly. To her great surprise, Tai **wasn't** there. All she saw was Sora, still sitting at the table with her back turned.

The long-haired girl quietly tiptoed over to where her friend was, and bent over slightly to try to get a look at her face. But Mimi still couldn't see it.

"Um...Sora? Is everything-"

"Don't look at me..."

"Sora...please…"

Slowly and reluctantly, Sora turned her head upwards and Mimi was flabbergasted to be greeted by her friend's tear-stained face. Sora had indeed been crying hard. This could only mean that her "reunion" with Tai hadn't gone according to plan, whatever it may have been.

"Sora, what happened?!"

Through tears and sobs, Sora did her best to explain what had occurred before Mimi returned.

"I saw Tai..." Sora hiccuped.

Mimi nodded.

"And I was so happy to see him...but when I reached out...he..."

"He what?"

"He **rejected** me...!"

Sora dropped to her knees and began to cry almost endlessly. Mimi held her close and hugged her tightly.

"Look, Sora...maybe...you just came on a little too strong...it might have been too startling to him..."

"I don't know...for the longest time...I was SO sure that he felt the same way I did..."

"I'm sure he does. Just give him a little time to think this through."

Sora sniffled again and brushed away her tears, but a few more were still trying to make their way out.

"Hey, Sora? How about I make us some popcorn, grab a couple of sodas, and we'll watch a movie on the couch? And tomorrow, we'll head out and do something fun...just the two of us, okay?"

Sora slowly nodded and put on an extremely pained smile.

Mimi smiled too, hugged Sora one more time, and gave her a small kiss on the cheek.

Soon the two girls wrapped themselves in a warm, soft blanket and did just as Mimi promised. But while she watched the film intently, Sora found that she couldn't, try as she might. Her mind was too preoccupied with her thoughts of Tai.

This had to be the mother of all disappointing scenarios. It seemed like only yesterday that she was facing danger in the Digital World with her closest comrade. Even though she was only eleven at the time, she had developed an unyielding crush on him. It may have already existed beforehand, but it was then that she had just started to notice these feelings for Tai.

Once the fiasco at Etemon's pyramid ended, she had spent four years wandering the Digital World...alone. She very well might have perished, but one single thought kept her going. The idea that she would no doubt see Tai Kamiya again one day was the only thing that fueled the blazing determination inside of her; fire that gave her the strength to keep on pushing day after day after day. But now this!

After all those hours, days, weeks, months, and years of waiting, he had pushed her away. Her, Sora Takenouchi, the one true friend that he's always known since kindergarten! Perhaps even before that...it just wasn't fair! Years of patient waiting...and all for **nothing.**

"All for nothing..." her voice sadly murmured.

"Huh? Did you say something, Sora?" asked Mimi, turning her head.

Sora quickly shook her head, and went back to watching the program. But less than five seconds later, her attention quickly drifted away again. Sora went back to thinking about what she would do next.

_Maybe Mimi was right_, she thought. _I guess I __**did **__come on a little too strong...but I haven't seen Tai in __**four**__ years! He's my best friend, and all I wanted to do was...I really thought he...liked me too. Well...maybe I'll try again...tomorrow..._

It was then that Sora began to yawn. Tai was right about one thing...it had been a long day for her.

Mimi's eyes tore away from the television, when she felt Sora lean her head against her shoulder. And she knew what that meant.

_Aww,_ Mimi thought. _How cute...Sora's already fast asleep. She's resting peacefully like a newborn baby. Poor girl,_ _today's been such a huge roller coaster ride for her..._

Mimi slowly got off the couch and shifted Sora's body so that she was lying down. She then placed a pillow under Sora's head, and completely covered her with the blanket.

While Sora slept, Mimi picked up the half-empty bowl of popcorn and soda cans, and headed for the kitchen. She then noticed that there wasn't much food left over from the meal she'd prepared for Sora, who apparently hadn't lost her appetite.

As Mimi put the dirty dishes in the sink, she thought about what the two of them should do tomorrow. Smiling she was determined to ensure that whatever they decided to do...it would be fun!

"Oh, well..." she said to herself. "Hopefully, tomorrow will be a peaceful day...at least things can't get any worse..."

Such a fact might have reigned true for Earth, but Mimi should have been well aware that deep in the Digital World, things are seldom peaceful...

* * *

Night fell everywhere, including the desert.

And far into the desert...was Sora's makeshift home, the pyramid that was once Etemon's domain.

And inside the pyramid, no one was there to hear...the echoes.

Echoes of someone's voice.

Echoes of something from the past.

Echoes of evil laughter.

**TO BE CONINUED...**

* * *

"_PHEW! I'm finally finished! Sorry it took so long! I've been busy as hell with too many things to list! I'll be brief...__**please**__ review and see ya later!"_

"_And I'd like to add that Whose Liner is a big, fat __**loser**__ who-"_

"_Hey, just __**what**__ are you telling them?! I see you! You're __**TOAST**__, man!"_


	6. Pizza & Trophies

YAWN!! Ugh, what **time** is it? Anyway I don't own Digimon this morning and...I need some breakfast...oh, btw, this is a LONG chapter! But it's also meant as compensation from the lack of updates, so PLEASE read and pour in the reviews! Enjoy!

**Digimon - Second Chances For Sora**

* * *

**Chapter 6 - Pizza & Trophies**

The crackling and sizzling sound (and smell) of food cooking (in a frying pan, no less) entered Sora's ears and nose, which served to pull her out of slumber. Sora indeed soon awoke, yawned, rubbed her eyes, and stretched her arms.

Not too far away she could see Mimi at the stove, cooking some breakfast. Sora pulled the blanket off, and made her way to the kitchen. Sensing Sora approaching, Mimi turned her head towards her.

"Oh! Good morning, Sora! Finally up?"

"Looks like it," Sora replied, shrugging.

"You just missed my aunt. She left about ten minutes ago."

"Oh, well. No harm done. I'll catch her soon enough. Anyway, what's going on here?"

"I'm making us some breakfast. Just cooking the last few pieces of bacon."

Sora took a brief sniff over the pan.

"Mmm! Smells **good!**" she said with a smile.

"I'm betting it'll taste good, too!" Mimi agreed cheerfully.

Within minutes, the two girls were at the table, happily munching away at the bacon, sausage, and pancakes Mimi had just cooked.

Given what had happened between Sora and Tai yesterday, Mimi had partially expected Sora to just pick at her food, but to her (pleasant) surprise, Sora was eating heartily, which made her glad. Nevertheless, Mimi decided to speak her mind.

"So, um, Sora? How...uh...how are you feeling this morning?"

Sora turned her head. She knew quite well what Mimi was referring to, but was more than willing to talk.

"Well...I guess I feel a little better. A good cry – and a good sleep – is something I really needed."

"I'm sure. You slept very peacefully and didn't even wake up once."

"How do you know?"

"I came out of my room around midnight to see how you were doing. And you were fast asleep."

Sora nodded in acknowledgement.

"Well, today's your first full day back in the **real** world, Sor! And once you finish breakfast, you and I can head out and have some fun!"

"But isn't it a school day?"

"I'm here on vacation, remember? And you are too...sorta."

"Uh, okay. Sounds great."

"Oh, before I forget...here."

Mimi pulled something encased in a small clear wrap out of her pocket and handed it to Sora.

"I picked it up for you on the way home yesterday, after Izzy's meeting."

"Hmm..." was all that Sora could say as she put down her fork, stuck in a piece of sausage.

"I hope you like it," Mimi said, sipping some orange juice.

"Hey, it's a watch!" Sora noted.

"Mm-hm...I thought that with you coming home and all, you could use one."

"Yeah, thanks! But you shouldn't have!"

Sora tore open the package and attached the red plastic watch around her left wrist.

"Oh, it's no problem...some guy was selling **tons** of those thingies on a street corner for really cheap! It barely cost me **anything.**"

A small "wrinkle" appeared on Sora's forehead upon this little discovery. But despite whether this watch was cheap or not, Sora kept calm, knowing that Mimi meant well and that her heart was in the right place.

"So...where should we go today?" Mimi cheerfully asked. "It's up to you."

"Well...um..."

Sora had trouble continuing her sentence, and turned her head away slowly, for she began to blush.

"Well, what?"

"I, uh...w-was hoping that I could see Tai again t-today...later, I mean..."

"I have no problem with that! You **should** see him, Sora! That'd be just fine!"

"Thanks, Mimi. What he said the other day hurt, but...I still wanna talk to him."

"I understand, Sor. Tell you what...we'll head over to his school once he gets out."

"Oh, that's right...he's in **school** right now..."

* * *

And at that very school, first period had ended, but the second one was going to commence in five minutes. Matt, Tai, and Sora exited the classroom, books in their hands and backpacks...well, on their backs.

"Man, oh, **man!**" exclaimed Matt, stretching his arms. "Any more of that crazy lecture, and I would've been out like a light permanently!"

Tai lightly chuckled. "I'd hafta agree with that! Mr. Yujiko's lectures are the ultimate weapons of destruction! You think so too, don't you Sora? Sora?"

The two boys turned their heads in Sora's direction, but their female friend was turned away from them, with her head down.

"What's with her?" Tai asked Matt, despite the annoying fact that (right now) Matt "knew" her better than Tai did.

"Hmmm..."

"Hope Sora didn't tie her hair back too tightly this morning," Tai gently joked.

"Sometimes I really wish she wouldn't do that. Her hair's fine the way it is, even though it has gotten a bit longer...but anyway, I think the real problem is Kari."

"Oh, yeah!"

Tai gently slapped his fist into the palm of his other hand, nearly forgetting what happened the day before.

"I forgot to apologize for her slapping Sora...I'm really sorry about all that-"

But Matt put up his hand to cut Tai's apology short.

"Say no more, man. Apology appreciated, but premature. Though I really hate to admit it...but Sora WAS acting pretty cold towards you. She was almost asking for it."

Tai was more than a little surprised that Matt would describe his own girlfriend that way, but continued to listen.

"I mean, everyone knows that you and your little sister are **really** close, and that she's awfully protective of you."

"And I'm very protective of her, too," said Tai, smiling from this very fact.

Matt also warmly smiled at Tai's words.

"Heh...that's just sorta cool how you two are so close. Most siblings these days aren't like that anymore."

Tai nodded and kept smiling, but stopped when he got a good look at Sora while getting some books from her locker.

Her cheek was quite bruised and red...from pain.

"Man...check it out, Matt. Her cheek is STILL red."

"Yeah, I thought the mark would've disappeared by now, but...I guess not. Weird," Matt replied, shrugging.

"Well, whatever the case, how's she holding up?"

"Not so good. She started to cry silently when I found her after the meeting at Izzy's place...which reminds me! How did the little reunion with the 'second' Sora go?"

"Not so good there, either..."

"Why? What-"

"Let's just sat that...things didn't go the way SHE hoped."

* * *

For the first few hours of the morning, Mimi and Sora spent them together, doing "girl stuff". Though the only place they went was the mall, that particular building still had much to offer. Sora was more than content to just window shop, while Mimi did all the "hard work" picking out different dresses and jewelry to purchase. But all the while, Mimi noticed that Sora was starting to smile more and become increasingly cheerful.

And this made both girls happy.

It was near noon, so the girls made a brief stop back at the apartment, to dump all the stuff Mimi bought. Mimi stole a quick glance at the clock on the wall.

"Hmmm, it's almost twelve and Tai is supposed to a half-day of school today...so if you wanna see him, we should get going!"

"Oh, umm...right!" Sora almost stammered. "But...**wait!** Hold on!"

Mimi watched in partial confusion as Sora ran over to the couch, and pulled out (from under it) an old, and slightly dusty wrapped present.

"What IS that, Sora?" asked a very curious Mimi.

Sora turned towards Mimi and blushed a bit.

"Oh, this...it's a little present that I meant to give to Tai a while back."

"I see...well, let's get a move on! The sooner we get moving, the sooner you can give it to him!"

Sora nodded and the two girls were once again out the door.

* * *

"**Yes!** School's out!" Matt rejoiced as he and Tai exited the school. "It's time do some SERIOUS goofing off!"

"I thought you had a date with Sora today. What happened?" asked Tai.

Matt shook his head.

"I'm gonna hafta break it. I got me a few possible gigs, and I have to check them out. Plus, I need to practice with the band for an upcoming performance at a restaurant..."

"What kind of restaurant? A fast food joint?"

"No way!" Matt laughed. "It's one of those fancy, classy places. So I only have a couple hours to kill before getting together with the others. So how about it? Let's hang."

"I'm with you!" Tai said. "How about we grab a couple burgers and then hit the arcade?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me!"

But before either boy could take two steps or two breaths, a very high-pitched, feminine voice stopped them.

"Sorry, boys...**slight** change of plans."

"Huh?" said Matt and Tai simultaneously.

Both of them turned their heads and saw a very cheerful Mimi, with a somewhat shy Sora standing behind her.

"Oh...hey there, Mimi. Anyway, what're you talking about?" asked Matt.

"I mean, that Tai's good friend, **Sora**, would like to spend some...ahem...**private** time with him. I mean, it's only been like **four** years since they've gotten a chance to bond," Mimi replied sarcastically.

"Ah," Tai nodded, scratching the back of his head. "Well...sorry, Matt...but, uh..."

Matt put up his hands in understanding. "Hey...it's cool, man. Some other time, then."

Tai nodded again and walked over to Sora.

"So what's happening, Sor?"

"Umm...y-you wanna go somewhere else to chat?" asked Sora nervously.

"Sure."

Matt stared as the two of them walked off together. But what he DIDN'T see was Mimi, who was blushing, and half-dreamily staring at HIM. But he soon noticed something was up with her, and turned his head in concern.

"Something wrong, Mimi?"

The light chocolate-colored haired girl then and there just realized what she was doing, and shook her head fast.

"What?! Oh, n...no! **Nothing!** I...I just thought I saw a fly on your shoulder! So...what were YOU looking at?"

"Um...I was just watching the two of them go off. And I saw...uh..."

"Saw what?"

"Well, it's obvious that they're still very much in love. You can almost feel it...they have it bad for each other..." Matt said, with a sigh and partially sad smile.

"Oh, yeah..." Mimi agreed, with the same expressions. "How long do think it'll be until they stop holding back their feelings?"

"Dunno...but something tells me that's the key to fixing a lot of problems..."

* * *

Tai and Sora decided to walk behind the school and sit on the bleachers to watch two other soccer teams go at it. All the while, Tai noticed Sora was trying to hide a green package behind her back. He was curious, but he got the feeling that Sora was going to tell him what was going on sooner or later.

"Listen, I'm sorry about yesterday..." Sora started. "I guess I came on a little too strong back there. But I was just so happy to see you that I-"

"No...i-it's kinda my fault," Tai interrupted. "I didn't mean to sound so nasty...I coulda hugged you back or something."

"Yeah...or **something**..." the girl muttered.

Sora and Tai just sat there in uncomfortable silence for a few seconds until Sora remembered her little "surprise" for him.

"Oh! Tai, I just remembered...here!"

Tai looked with interest as Sora embarrassingly held her head down while holding out the dusty present for him to open.

"For me?" he asked, pointing to the package.

"Uh, huh!" Sora said almost excitedly, blushing again.

"But it's not my birthday, and-"

"Oh, I know! I was hoping to give it to you last Christmas, but well...I was still stranded in the Digital World, so...!"

_Christmas, eh?_

That was the only thought echoing through Tai's head. This little fact – and the familiar wrapping – briefly opened a small, painful, buried, but living memory that still hurt to think about...

* * *

"_Sora, wait up!"_

"_Oh, Tai...uh...err..."_

"_So, um, Sora, you goin' to the concert with anybody? I mean, not that it matters to me...just wondering." _

"_No, I wanna be available in case Matt is free afterwards. Eh, heh..."_

"_Oh, I see...Matt, huh? I-it's okay..."_

"_Thanks, Tai."_

* * *

"Tai? TAI? TAI!!"

"Huh?! Wh...what??"

Sora's voice had enough volume to snap Tai back into reality.

"Geez, are you okay? You spaced out for a second..."

"Oh, don't worry...I mean...I was just thinking about something..."

"Uh...all right...well, aren't you gonna open your present?"

"Right! And thanks, Sor. I really DO appreciate it," Tai said with genuine happiness.

"Your welcome, Tai," Sora said sweetly, with such an innocent, sincere smile that could melt any boy's heart.

Tai laughed nervously and began to blush a bit. But he remained focused, and proceeded to tear off the wrapping of Sora's present to reveal...

"Oh, Sora!" Tai exclaimed half-mockingly. "A **box!** It's just what I've **always** wanted! You shouldn't have!"

Sora started laughing and playfully pushed him backwards.

"Would you knock it off? Just **open** it already!"

Tai started to laugh as well, and for that one moment, both of them didn't have a care in the world. As they shared the humor of the situation, it felt exactly just like "old times" for the two kids, as it should've been.

Sora almost held her breath as Tai opened the box. His eyes were greeted with the sight of a photo, neatly inserted into a frame. But this wasn't just ANY photo...this was a nice, clear shot of a younger Tai and Sora, both eleven years old.

That photograph was taken just after the soccer championship finals. Both had dirt and sweat on their faces, and on their red soccer jerseys, but they were smiling while they held up an impressive looking soccer trophy. Tai didn't remember it right away...

...but this was also the last soccer game they played together before venturing into the Digital World.

"Oh, Sora...**wow!** How'd ya get this picture of us?" Tai asked, sincerely impressed.

"When I was stranded in the Digital World, I remembered that I had some photos in my wallet. So some digimon in one of the cities I visited had special machines that could stretch out the photo and blow it up. Then I had it put into this wooden frame," Sora explained.

"You really didn't have to do all this...but thanks a lot!"

Sora smiled proudly and was very glad that Tai enjoyed his gift.

"I'm really happy that you like it, Tai."

"Hey, I can honestly say that it's the best Christmas gift I've even gotten...even if it was a little late."

"Umm, Tai? Can we go somewhere else to grab some food? I'm kinda hungry."

"Sure, no problem. I'm getting hungry too, actually."

"How about we go out for some pizza? My treat."

"YOUR treat?"

"Yeah, Mimi gave me some money."

"Oh...okay, great!"

As they left the bleachers, Tai carefully picked up the picture Sora gave to him and tucked it under his arm. They also discovered that as they talked more to each other, the uneasy tension became less awkward.

"Hey, just outta curiosity, Tai..."

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering...uh, where's my...'sister'...?"

"Oh, uh...well, she was SUPPOSED to have a date with Matt today, but..."

"But?"

"Well, let's just say that things don't always work out as planned..."

_You're telling __**me**_, Sora thought to herself.

* * *

"WHAT!?"

At the warehouse where Matt's band known as the Teenage Wolves usually practiced, Matt sheepishly and nervously scratched the back of his head as Sora almost screamed at him.

For his girlfriend, it seemed that the hits just kept coming.

First, Sora's inner emotional conflict with Tai had been continuously gnawing at her thoughts. Then she found out that she has a "twin sister" to contend with. Next, Tai's little sister Kari slapped her (and nearly knocked her out of her senses). And finally, Matt now had to call off his date with her.

"I'm sorry, Sora, but I have to practice. You knew that when we started dating there might be some difficulties like this. I said so."

"You're dumping me for a possible gig? You sure know how to make a girl feel appreciated!" Sora sarcastically snapped.

Matt understood why Sora was acting this way, and didn't hold it against her at all. And he honestly felt bad about dropping his date with her. But at the present moment, there didn't appear to be much else that he could do.

"I know, I know! I'm really sorry!" said Matt, with a **very** apologetic and sad look on his face.

But Sora just put up her hand, not wanting to hear anymore.

"Whatever, just go have fun with your band **and** your music!" she angrily replied.

With that said, Sora turned and left in a huff.

"I really **am** sorry, Sora! I **promise** I'll make it up to you!" Matt called out.

But Sora just covered her ears. Matt sadly sighed to himself.

"Man...I sure hope Tai's having better luck with 'his' Sora..."

* * *

Tai and Sora had arrived at a hangout known as the Pizza Palace, both of them starving. Tai took a seat at one of the outside tables and carefully placed the framed photo on the table too.

"Okay...just have a seat, Tai! I'll order for both of us!" Sora cheerfully offered.

"That's cool," Tai agreed. "Um, I want-"

"Two large pepperoni slices and a root beer, right?"

Tai briefly went wide-eyed, and blinked five times. He was actually a little surprised that Sora – THIS Sora – knew him so well.

"Uh, yeah...how'd you-"

"Hey," she said with a smile, "You're my best friend...I'm **supposed** to know this stuff. It's my job."

Tai chuckled as Sora got in line to order. He then took a deep breath as he took another good look at the photograph of himself and Sora.

_Geez_, he thought. _Were Sora and I __**ever**__ that young?_

* * *

Not too far away from the pizza place, a small aluminum can got kicked easily more than five feet and ended up in the street. It may have been a half a day of school for Sora, but that hardly helped to cure her of her recent emotional maelstrom.

She looked down at the sidewalk, with a sad look on her face. Her arms were behind her back, and she was taking very slow steps. But that didn't even amount of thinking that was going on in her head at the current moment.

Things seem to have been going so well for her...

She was doing well in school, her tennis skills were increasing, she had two wonderful parents who loved her dearly, she was backed by deeply caring, dependable and reliable comrads (Digidestined or otherwise), not to mention she had the coolest, nicest boyfriend she'd ever met. (In her opinion, anyway.)

Unbeknownst to her, one thing – the most important thing – was missing...a best friend.

Granted, she **still** pretty much had it all, but with the discoveries and revelations in the last day or so, it seemed irrelevant now. Maybe it was because she was no longer an only child? She had always wanted a sibling (a younger sister, preferably), but this was ridiculous!

"Why is this happening to me?" she asked, not caring someone saw she was audibly talking to herself.

As Sora walked and talked to herself, she noticed not too far away someone she could always recognize, like it was some sort of special sixth sense of hers.

Tai Kamiya.

_Wonder what he's doing here_, Sora thought. _Well, geez...where are my brains? This is the Pizza Palace! He's obviously here for some food!_

Sora thought about walking over and striking up a chat with him, but she then noticed that he was looking at something. It was wrong to sneak up on somebody like this, but curiosity got the better of her. Thankfully, he had his back turned and there was a small, but wide bush and large tree to give her cover. Sora's thoughts continued to create more questions that either couldn't be answered or had no answers.

_He has something in his hands...what is it?_

Sora quickly realized that it was a framed photo, but she was shocked when she saw just WHO was in the picture...

_Wait...that's ME! Me and...TAI! But I don't remember that photo at all..._

"Eat up, Tai!" said a voice that Sora found familiar...it was HER voice!

Sora jerked her head up a little more and saw herself sit down next to Tai. She decided to duck down a little more, and hopefully the bushes would be enough to conceal her.

"Here's your pizza!" Sora said to Tai.

"Thanks!" he cheerfully replied.

For a few moments, the two of them munched on their pizza and sipped their sodas, while Sora was forced to listen to the annoying sounds. She was ready to slip away when her double decided to break the ice.

"So, Tai? Do you like the present I gave you?"

"Oh, yeah! I think it's great!"

"I mean, granted...it's not the most expensive-"

"The point, Sor...is that it came from your heart and you really put some thought into it. Trust me, you've never failed when giving me Christmas gifts...uh...well, with the exception of last year's Christmas anyway...but all the same, every gift you've ever given me has always been better than the last one."

Back down in the bushes, Sora felt an incredible wave of guilt wash over her as she realized that Tai was right. She had her heart set on attracting Matt's attention so much last Christmas, that she'd **completely** forgotten to give Tai a present!

"I do appreciate the kind words, Tai. You've never 'failed' me either."

"So, uh...what made you decide to enlarge THIS particular photo?"

"Tai, don't you remember? This picture was taken the day soccer championships were won by our team! We were eleven!"

"Oh! That's right!"

"Mm-hm. It was also...the last soccer game we were in together before we went to the Digital World."

"Yeah?"

Sora nodded.

"That was also a very...special game for me..." she said, blushing.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't tell me you don't remember **that**, either..."

"Sorry, Sor. Refresh my memory."

"That was the game where you gave me that **big** trophy!"

Tai thought hard as his mind took him on a little stroll down good, old Memory Lane...

* * *

"GO FOR IT, KAMIYA!!"

Eleven year-old Tai Kamiya wiped some sweat off of his forehead as he ran down the soccer field. The soccer coach called out to him to keep Tai focused and encouraged.

"Give it up, Kamiya!" yelled one of the kids from the opposite team. "I'm faster than you!"

But Tai just smirked at the boy. He turned his head to the left as he saw his best buddy, eleven year-old Sora Takenouchi. Sora winked as Tai, who started to smile as well.

"Okay, buddy!" he said the boy catching up with him, "You want this ball? Fine, it's yours...if you can **take** it!"

With that Tai swiftly kicked the ball with all his might to the left, passing it to Sora.

The boy and two of his teammates growled as Tai and Sora were definitely outdoing them.

But if someone tried to block them, they'd swiftly pass to the other. This was quite amazing, considering that all this only happened in a mere matter of seconds.

Finally, there was no one standing between Tai, Sora, and the opposite team's goal. Tai and Sora looked at each other with confident smiles on their faces.

"Y'ready, Sora?" Tai yelled.

"You know it, Tai!" Sora yelled back.

"LET'S DO THIS!" they both hollered.

Sora and Tai ran at lightning speed and kicked the ball at the same time. The goalie didn't have a chance and actually ran away from the goal! As expected, the soccer ball went in and hit the net, dead center.

After that, it was all a bit of a blur. There were cheers, yells, clapping, jumping up and down, and so much more radiating joy! This was, after all, the match to win the championship title!

Everyone on Tai and Sora's team got trophies, while the coach was awarded a much bigger trophy. Then, it was time for team pictures. There were some of the coach with individual players, the coach by himself, and a big group shot of everyone.

But nothing could prepare Tai for the shock he received when the coach decided to swap trophies with HIM! He knew that Tai had put a lot of hard work, practice, and heart into the game, so he gave him the trophy. Thankfully, none of the other teammates were jealous, but that caused Tai to consider something...

He knew that while Sora had played in many soccer games on different teams, she had NEVER won a championship before. So Tai requested a picture be taken of him and Sora holding up the trophy. Needless to say, Sora didn't hesitate to agree.

As they posed Tai smirked and gave Sora a "special wink", and all Sora responded with was a "Hm?" But one thing she did know was that whenever Tai gave her a "special wink", it meant that he had something VERY important on his mind.

As the two of them walked home together, Tai worked up the nerve to talk to Sora for a second about what he was thinking.

"Um, Sora?" he nervously asked.

"Yeah?" she replied, noticing that Tai was oddly blushing.

"Uh...I, er, I wanted to say...that you, uh...did a really good job on the field today..."

"Okay..."

"And, well...I know that this is the first championship game you've ever won, right?

"Yeah."

"Well, uh...HERE!"

Sora's eyes widened as she saw Tai hold out the coach's big trophy. And judging from his nervousness, it was clear that he wanted Sora to have it.

"For...for me?" she asked softly.

Tai, still blushing, nodded furiously.

"I...I don't understand...!"

"Well, like I said...this is the **first **big soccer championship you've won...and I know that your mom's given you a **lotta** grief about playing soccer...so I want you to have this..."

Sora gasped at the realization that Tai WASN'T kidding. Not one bit.

"But why??" Sora asked, with tears starting to fill up her eyes.

"Cuz'...I've got plenty of soccer trophies, but you...well, you made the winning shot. So you can have this one. This'll be your very first...champion soccer trophy!"

"My what...?"

"Y'know...the kind of champion trophy that you REALLY deserve!"

Sora gasped as Tai handed her the trophy, simply placing it in her arms. The girl slowly looked down at the object now in her hands. Somehow her mind wouldn't accept what had just occurred.

"Oh, but...! Tai, I **can't** accept this! The coach **personally** gave this to you...!"

"Forget it! I said I already have a lotta trophies!"

"Then at least take my other smaller one-"

"Nah! Forget it! They're both yours! Go on, Sora! I want you to have 'em! One more trophy for me isn't gonna make a difference!"

Others might have thought that Tai was just bragging about his trophy collection, but Sora knew Tai better than that. Tai closed his eyes, scratched the back of his head, and started give off his typical wacky laugh. But it all ceased when he noticed that Sora had (put) her head down, unintentionally hiding her eyes.

"Umm...Sora?" Tai asked, starting to worry. Worrying turned to alarm when he noticed that she was shaking.

His eyes went wide when she lifted her face. It was soaked with tears. Tears containing joy, embarrassment, and subconsciously...a budding and completely unyielding romantic feeling.

"Sora?" Tai asked in his gentlest voice, "Are you okay?"

But the young, shorthaired girl just kept staring at him, shaking and sobbing with tears flowing down her face.

"Tai...I...oh, gimme a hug, you big **jerk!**"

Sora grabbed him and cried so much at that moment, still clutching the big trophy, and never once losing her grip on it...or Tai, who decided not to say anything. But as he closed his eyes...he realized that he was crying, too.

* * *

"That was absolutely the most **sweetest** thing you ever did for me, Tai...and I never, **ever** once forgot it."

Tai sat back in seat, exhaled deeply, and slowly nodded.

"I **do** remember now," he calmly admitted.

"That's when I truly realized how much you cared for me...and how much I cared for you."

Tai nodded, unintentionally avoiding eye contact with her, but he jerked his head towards her when he felt a warm and soft hand covering his own. As he looked at her, he became increasingly uneasy, noticing Sora's facial expression. She was dreamily gazing at him, with half-open eyes, and a red blush streaking across her face, like her double last Christmas. The only difference was that this time around, it was meant for **him.** A small, but incredibly cute giggle escape her lips.

The boy gulped, but regained his composure, and loudly cleared his throat as a signal for Sora to stop what he was doing. Sora really didn't want to, as she just couldn't help the way she felt about him. But the last thing she wanted to do was to make her love uncomfortable, so she complied.

"I meant what I said...I never forgot it, Tai. Ever since that day, I kept that trophy on top of my dresser."

"Yeah, I know...that was a nice thing to do."

Down on the ground, Sora felt even more guilt as she continued to eavesdrop. She decided she'd had enough. Then and there, she slowly crawled away from the pair.

"Hey, what's with droopy face?" Sora asked.

Once again, Tai explained the circumstances of what exactly transpired the previous Christmas. Only this time, he was more specific in giving the details. He explained that it was really HIS fault that Sora rejected him, because he waited too long to tell her how he really felt. It was extremely painful reliving these memories, but Tai wanted to tell Sora the truth, so he had no choice but to keep on talking.

Sora listened very carefully to Tai's story, never once breaking eye contact, wanting to make sure that she heard everything right. And the more she listened, the angrier she became at her "sister"...but then she noticed how passionately Tai was telling the story. That's when the wheels inside her head started to turn.

And that's when she discovered that Tai was still very much in love with Sora. With HER.

_I don't believe a word Tai says about how he doesn't feel anything for me. I can just sense it...I __**know**__ he still likes her...and me._

"Boy..." he said, sadly finishing the tale, "Come to think of it, she never DID make me those cookies in the end."

Tai glumly looked at Sora, who decided to lighten the mood a little.

"Don't look at me, I don't cook!"

Tai chuckled a bit.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to drive the mood into the floor..." Sora said, sincerely apologizing.

"No...you're my best friend...at the very least you deserved to know the truth. So...since that you're home, what'll you do now?"

"To be honest...I'm not too sure. But, uh..."

Tai started to get uncomfortable as Sora started to grin.

"But what?"

"You know...there is ONE thing that I know for sure hasn't changed..."

"And what's that?" asked Tai, smiling slightly.

"When it comes one-on-one, I can still whip you good in soccer."

"Oh, really...care to **test** those words?" Tai gently dared, now grinning as well.

As Sora got up from her seat, all she said was, "Don't say I didn't warn you...and **don't** cry after I win."

"You're on!" Tai challenged. The two laughed, and ran off to grab a soccer ball and find an open field.

* * *

"I'm home!" Sora announced to her mom, who was in the kitchen, cooking an early dinner.

"Hi, sweetie!" she replied.

Mrs. Takenouchi was glad to see her daughter, but was mentally preoccupied. After the meeting at Izzy's place, Sora had been forced to confront her mother and explain why she'd missed tennis practice, and why there was a bruise on her cheek.

Sora had also informed her mom of the double that had recently been discovered, and about how she was rooming with Mimi. Ever since then, Mrs. Takenouchi had become increasingly anxious to "meet" her "second child" in the near future. With her husband coming home from his long business trip, it would've been the perfect opportunity to do so. But the big question was, would the "other" Sora **want** to meet with her?

Meanwhile, Sora slowly walked into her bedroom and sadly looked at the top of her dresser. On top of it (now) was a framed picture of Matt and herself hugging each other lovingly. She made her way to the closet in the back of her room, and opened up the slide door.

Inside was a dusty old box of things she put away in there, hoping to forget them. Blowing off the top layer of dust, she opened the box. It didn't take too long for her to rummage through it, and find what she was looking for.

Since Sora left her bedroom door open, Mrs. Takenouchi watched on, trying to mentally share the sad moment with her. In no time at all, Sora pulled out of the box what she hadn't meant to forget so easily. Mrs. Takenouchi almost gasped as she saw what her daughter was holding.

In her hands was a soccer trophy.

Tears formed in her eyes, as she slowly began to remember everything that the trophy symbolized, and especially where it came from.

Sora couldn't hold back her tears, nor did she even try to. Hugging the trophy ever so tightly, she began to cry, but she already knew that this pain was less than she deserved.

"I'm sorry, Tai...I didn't mean to forget you. Please forgive me...what kind of monster have I become?"

* * *

About a little less than an hour later, Sora's double arrived back at Mimi's. Sora was just about to greet her, when she saw that Mimi was on the phone. She waved, aware of Sora's presence.

As Sora opened the refrigerator to get something to drink, she couldn't help but overhear what Mimi saying over the telephone. And what she heard made her awfully suspicious.

"Yes...uh, huh...well, yeah, she just came in, and...I, uh...I'll hafta to ask, and...oh, okay! I'll have her call you back with the news! Um...actually, maybe it'd be better for her to decide that for...yeah, that's great. Thanks for calling! Bye!"

Sora sat down at the kitchen table, drinking some soda, and at the same time, staring intently at Mimi.

"So, what was that all about? And **who** was on the phone?"

"Uhhh...it was..."

"Yeah?"

Mimi sat down at the table next to Sora and gently held her hand.

"Sora...that was your mom."

The girl froze and her blood ran cold for a moment.

"Oh," she responded with barely any emotion in her suddenly low voice. "What does she want?"

Mimi took a deep breath.

"She wants to meet you."

* * *

PHEW and WHEW!! **Damn**, this took so long to write!! But as I said, I guess this extensive chapter makes up for this story's delayed updating! Now, I expect you all to act like good little reviewers and REVIEW! I really put a **lot** into this chapter, and I'm not handing out any free rides here! (Don't worry, I'll figure out a way to backup that threat.) **So!** What the heck do you think will happen **now?!** Will Sora ever be cured of her pain and guilt? Will Sora's double agree to meet with her mom (and dad) again for the first time? Will Tai ever get together with EITHER Sora? And will I **ever** get a good night's sleep around here?! Only one surefire way to find out! Keep on reading and the answers shall emerge! BUH-BYE!!


	7. Remeet the Parents

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon...and Digimon doesn't own me. So **there!**

**Digimon - Second Chances For Sora**

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* * *

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Chapter 7 - Remeet the Parents

_**Mom.**_

That was the only thought that ran through Sora Takenouchi's brain as she slowly slumped down in a nearby chair.

In all the fuss about coming home and reuniting with all of her old friends (Tai and Mimi especially), she hadn't had any time to think about her parents!

Not that it bothered Sora too much. After all, her dad was often away on business trips...and her **mom?** Boy, **what** a story!

From Sora's perspective, her mom was a true believer in making it hard for daughter to be happy. She disliked her interest in sports, she tried to throw out her soccer gear and equipment, and prevented her from participating in games when it counted the most!

"Sora? Can you hear me?" asked a worried Mimi.

Sora slowly nodded.

"I'm just thinking about what you said...about how my mom..."

"Yeah, she wants to invite you over for dinner," Mimi sweetly noted. "What's the problem?"

Sora slightly turned her head away, but continued to speak.

"It's just that...well, Mom and I don't...**haven't** always seen eye to eye."

"Oh?"

"Yeah..." Sora muttered. "We would argue and disagree a lot...about almost anything and everything. We wouldn't shout at each other, really...but after a few years of this stuff, you tend to get a little sick of it, y'know?"

"I see..." Mimi acknowledged.

"But what really hassled me is that she disapproved of me playing soccer."

"Whaddya mean? Is it that terrible?"

"It **is!**" Sora insisted, now locking eyes with Mimi. "I don't think I ever told you this, but for my whole life...I've been a bit of a tomboy. Before I knew you and the others, I didn't really know how or where to fit in. But then I met Tai when we were really little, and I soon got introduced into the sport of soccer."

"Uh-huh..."

"For the first time ever, I really felt like I belonged somewhere. I'd found something I liked and was good at. So I tried my absolute **hardest** to be the best that I could possibly be at soccer. And since Mom wasn't about to pay for any lessons, I was forced to teach myself everything I know...with a **lot** of support from Tai. Mom didn't give me one stinking bit of encouragement, and I soon became a soccer success, **no** thanks to her."

Sora finished her statement, firmly and somewhat coldly. Mimi could almost feel the ice in Sora's voice.

"It can't be that bad between you and your mom, Sora..." she gently suggested.

"No, it's not that bad...it's **worse**," Sora replied.

"How so?"

"Mom really crossed the line once...on what was probably one of the most important days of my life."

Mimi sighed and firmly held Sora's hand as a sign of consoling.

"Explain it to me, girlfriend."

Sora sadly took a deep breath and nodded.

"I remember it like it was yesterday...it was during the last day of the soccer finals. My team had been really counting on me, even though we were all good. I'd bruised my leg a few days ago, and even though it wasn't a major injury, Mom decided to bandage it up. Although personally, I think she was just trying to **keep** me from playing-"

"Enough with the blame, Sor. Just keep talking."

"Anyway, that leg of mine was just fine by the day of the finals. But my mom kept me in my room, trying again to banish soccer from my life **completely!** It'd been nearly an hour, but I decided that I wanted to help my team in any way that I could. So I put on my uniform, got the rest of my gear together, and tried to sneak out. But Mom saw me – and stopped me – before I could even walk five feet."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah...she gave me this **stupid** lecture about how I should stop playing and work at her **lame** flower shop from now on. But I tried telling her that..."

* * *

"_...this match is to win the __**title!**__" Sora yelled, standing up on both feet, with one ankle bandaged up._

* * *

"She just wouldn't listen to me. It was like talking to a brick wall."

As Sora continued to talk, the memories of the horrible event kept pouring back into her mind.

"Hey, your mom's not like that..." Mimi said. "I've gotten to know her pretty well...and I think she's a-"

"Completely unreasonable, **selfish** mother!" Sora angrily interrupted. "She didn't care about me OR my soccer skills!"

"But-"

"No 'buts,' Mimi! She's **never** understood me! And she probably never **will!**"

* * *

"_WHY?! Why can't you __**understand**__ me!?" Sora shouted, almost in tears._

_Not wanting to waste any more time, Sora quickly got up, and ran as fast as she could out of her mother's flower shop. It took a while for her to get to the soccer field without having someone to drive her there._

_As Sora finally arrived, she looked on in shock to see that-_

* * *

"...the game was already over and my team had lost. To make matters worse, I saw them heading towards me with their heads down. I was sure that they were gonna start yelling at me for not being there, but they didn't say a thing. They didn't even notice I was right there in front of them! Afterwards, I was SO angry at my mom for trying to stop me from playing in that game!"

Mimi almost gasped when Sora angrily slammed the kitchen table with a tight fist.

"I let down the team! And **myself!** I know you probably don't understand any of this the way I do, but believe me...I have **good** reason for not wanting to see my mom! So **there!** Maybe Mom should try calling me in about **another** four years or so!"

But Sora couldn't take much more of all this remembering, and almost broke down in tears, putting her head down and promptly placing her fists on her knees. Her face couldn't be seen, as it was shrouded in shadow, but Mimi jumped to the rescue once more when she noticed the small salty drops colliding with her hands and knees.

The girl started sniffling and sobbing, but her unseen face was soon pressed to Mimi's chest. The longhaired girl cupped Sora's face and locked eyes with her.

"Look, Sora...I'm totally sympathetic right now...and you must have good reason to ha...**dislike** your mom. **And** I know that not seeing her in fours years made you feel kinda distant from her...but she's here now with her hand out. And you **can't** afford to turn her away."

Sora sniffed again and rubbed a few tears out of her eyes.

"I...I don't know..."

"Please, Sora. One way or another, you gotta respond to your mom. I'd go with you, but I hafta run some errands with my aunt for all of tomorrow evening, which is when Mrs. Takenouchi wants to see you."

"Wait!" exclaimed Sora, standing up. "That's it!"

"Wha?"

"You'll see...first I gotta make a phone call..."

With that said, Sora picked up the phone receiver and dialed furiously.

* * *

"Jump, jump, jump! **King** me!" Kari Kamiya chirped from across the checkerboard.

"Argh!" Tai growled.

Kari giggled from her brother's response. To take Tai's mind off all the craziness that had occurred recently, she decided to spend the evening with her brother, doing anything as long as it was recreational. So she suggested that they play a game of Checkers, and her plan worked...to an extent.

"Hey...um, how 'bout ONE more game??" asked a desperate Tai.

"TAI!" Kari almost shouted (but smiling). "That's ELEVEN games of Checkers you've lost so far!"

"C'mon, sis! I **promise **that I'll beat you this time!"

"Okay, okay...if it'll help put your mind at ease...I'll make my victory count an even dozen."

"We'll see..."

**RRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!**

"I'll get the phone, you reset the board," Tai said, pointing at Kari.

"Got it."

"Hello?...oh, **Sora!** Uh, hey there-"

"Tai, you hang up that phone right **now!**" Kari hissed as she raced over to where Tai was. "I don't want Sora bothering you anymore!"

"Hold on for a sec..." Tai said to the person over the phone. "Um, Kari...it's not what you think...it's the...'other' Sora."

"Oh...uh...fine, I'll let you two talk."

And Kari did just that, going into her room.

"So what's up, Sor?"

"Umm...Tai? I, uh, have a favor to ask..."

"Well, depends what it is...but lay it on me."

"Y'see, my mom called up Mimi today and asked if I wanted to have dinner with her tomorrow night."

"Uh-huh..."

"And I'm thinking of accepting her offer...but..."

"But what?"

"It's just...well, I'll be honest...I just don't think I can do this alone...I'm...I'm **scared.**"

That word seemed to strike a chord in Tai. Remembering how THIS Sora hadn't seen her parents in about four years, it only seemed natural that she'd feel even more distant from her mom than the "first" Sora did. He pretty much saw where this was all going, but he let his friend talk.

"Okay, go on..."

"That's about it. So I wanted to know...will you go with me to see my mom and dad? I don't wanna be by myself when...IF I do this."

"Well...I wouldn't mind going with you...but are you sure it's cool? I mean...I got nothing planned for tomorrow, but even so...this is sorta a 'family' thing..."

"Oh, **please!?**" Sora cried desperately. "For my sake...please come with me, Tai! I can't face her without someone there with me! I just **know** I can't! PLEASE?!"

Sora was feeling VERY vulnerable at this moment in time. And her decision about meeting her mother all came down to this. If she couldn't rely on her best friend for help, then who else could she turn to?

"Right now..." she continued. "You...you're the **only** one I trust."

Tai took a deep breath, and let everything he heard over the phone sink in.

"Please?" Sora asked once more, with nothing but utter desperation in her voice.

Tai took another deep breath, and finally responded.

"Sora...you know that I'd do anything for you."

"Is that a 'yes'?"

"Yes. I'll go with you to see your parents."

Sora's eyes widened and in her mind she was jumping for joy.

"You really mean it?!"

Tai nodded, even though Sora couldn't see him do it.

"Of course."

"Oh, Tai...!"

"Huh?"

"Tai...THANK YOU! Oh, thank you, **thank you!** You're the **best!** I knew I could count on you!"

Tai was somewhat taken aback by Sora's excitement, but he smiled nonetheless.

"You can **always** count on me, Sor. Never forget that."

"Just...just checking," Sora replied, with a few tears in her eyes.

"Heh...s'okay."

"I most definitely won't forget this, Tai. I'll call you tomorrow with all the details."

"Gotcha."

"Ok, bye...and Tai?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks again," Sora said with a little bit of passion in her voice.

"Don't mention it."

The two teens hung up simultaneously, and both let out a deep breath of relief.

* * *

The phone rung continuously at the Takenouchi residence, and the noise annoyed the two pairs of ears that were forced to listen to it.

"Oh, Sora...can you get that, honey?" Mrs. Takenouchi asked. "I'm cooking dinner."

"Sorry, Mom. I'm fixing my hair."

Mrs. Takenouchi growled, and swiftly picked up the phone.

"Yes?"

"Is...is Mrs. Takenouchi there?" asked a somewhat shy, intimidated voice.

"Speaking."

"Uh...h-hi, Mom."

Sora's mother jerked her head up at the person talking.

"Oh! It...it's YOU, dear."

"Yeah...hey, there."

From the bathroom where Sora was humming and brushing her hair, the change in the tone of her mom's voice caused her to come to the kitchen and see what was going on. Not wanting to interrupt the conversation between her mother and the person on the other end of the line, Sora simply stood in the kitchen doorway, leaned against it, and listened in on her mom.

"It's been...**ages** since we've...talked, honey."

"Four years, to be exact."

"Y...yes. Four years."

Something about the mentioning of "four years" caused Sora's ears to grow.

"Anyway, I called to give you an answer about your little...dinner invitation."

"Oh, really? What've you decided?"

"I, uh...oh, geez...I...I'll come over..."

"You mean it? That's absolutely **wonderful**, dear!"

Over at Mimi's, Sora paused at her mom's happy response. She wasn't used to her mother being so...nice.

"Uh, yeah...well, there is ONE small condition..."

"What is it?"

"Tai's coming with me."

"Hmm?

"Even **you** would remember my best friend...Tai Kamiya?"

"Of course! I've haven't forgotten him...but I had my heart set on a meal just between you, me, and your da-"

Sora's sigh over the telephone was more than enough to cut her mom's words short. She slowly closed her eyes, took a deep, frustrated breath and said with a firm voice...

"Mom...either Tai is invited...or the dinner's off."

Peeking into the kitchen, Sora raised a suspicious eye at the expression on her mother's face. What sort of phone call could be causing her to act so emotionally?

"I understand. That's fine...after all, I've always considered Tai one of the family!"

Still watching her mom from afar, Sora became increasingly alarmed at the mention of Tai. Things were WAY too uncomfortable between him and her right now.

"Then I accept. Thanks, Mom."

"Great! Dinner is tomorrow night at seven."

"O-okay...we'll, uh...we'll be there."

"Great...goodbye for now."

"Uh...bye, Mom."

As they both nervously hung up, Mrs. Takenouchi took a deep breath, relieved that the phone call didn't turn into an argument.

"AHEM!"

Mrs. Takenouchi jumped at the voice, but immediately realized that it was just her daughter.

"Umm...how long have you been there, dear?" she nervously asked.

"Long enough to make me pretty suspicious. Would you mind telling me what that phone call was all about?"

"Well...you see...ever since you told me about your...double...I've been wanting to meet her. So, I...invited her over here for dinner tomorrow night."

"Oh, is that all? Sounds like something out of a bad soap opera," Sora sarcastically replied.

"Nevertheless, I'd welcome your presence at the table, too," Mrs. Takenouchi offered.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Mom. I'll pass."

"Why?"

"Because...things between me and Tai are getting difficult. And me being in the same room with him and 'sis'...it would just be kinda awkward, y'know?"

"But your father's coming home from his business trip, Sora! Wouldn't you like to see him?"

"I...I do, but...it'd be just too uncomfortable for me. Tell Dad I'm sorry. Please don't be too offended by this."

"I guess I understand, honey. But you know, it wouldn't hurt to catch up on things with Tai, since you've been spending a lot of your free time with Matt."

"What?! But I-"

"I know you think he's a nice boy, and I'm not denying that...but the special bond that you and Tai used to share is slowly...evaporating."

"Mom, you don't know what you're talking about-"

"Oh, **don't** I? What about last month?"

"Last month? What does **that** have to do with anything?"

"If I recall correctly, weren't you supposed to accompany Tai, Kari, and T.K. to the amusement park? Kari made you promise to that."

Sora eyes widened for the millionth time, but they quickly screwed shut, as she leaned against the kitchen counter and buried her face in her hands, but she wasn't crying.

"Oh, no...I totally forgot!"

"What's worse is that you blew them off to go spend the day with Matt!"

"Mom...I..."

"Look...if you really don't want to see Tai tomorrow night, then I won't hold it against you. You don't have to eat with us."

"Thanks, Mom."

"But whatever's going on with you two, just let it go and make up with one another. So...what will you do instead of eating with the rest of us?"

"Oh, I'll just hang out with some of my friends...they're thinking about seeing a movie tomorrow night, anyway."

"Fine. I'll give you a call on your cell phone when everyone's left."

Sora half-smiled and nodded. She then walked back into her room, closed the door behind her, and lied down on her bed. These last couple of days had been extremely stressful and tiring for her. She turned to lie on her side and glanced up at her dresser once more. The photo of her and Matt was still there, but standing next to it...was her old soccer trophy, that was originally meant for her old soccer coach. Sora sighed and smiled a little.

The trophy was back where it belonged. And there was more than enough space on top of the dresser for both items.

_Well...there's one thing I've corrected_, she thought. _But next comes the hard part..._

* * *

Ironically, most of the day seemed to pass by rather fast, much to Sora's dismay. She didn't do much until the evening, except think about was meeting with her parents. Most of those seemingly short hours were spent on Mimi's couch, thinking, worrying and dreading.

She thought about whether or not her mother would be happy to see her, worrying about what she should say when she arrives at her old apartment, and just plain dreading the concept of meeting her mom and dad after four years.

And before she knew it, it was already **6:30!**

Sora was still brooding in the apartment, with Mimi trying to comfort her.

"Well...it's almost seven, Sor. Doncha think you should head over to your mom's place?"

Sora sighed and took a good look at her watch. It read 6:32 p.m.

"Umm, not yet...Tai's coming to pick me up any minute now."

"Ah."

**DING-DONG!!**

"Speak of the devil!" Mimi said, now putting on a small smile.

Sora did the same.

"Tai, a **devil?** Hardly."

Mimi giggled briefly and opened. And sure enough, there was Tai.

Sora was relieved to see him dressed in a dark blue T-shirt, brown shorts, long, baggy, white socks, black sneakers, and NOT in some high-class, fancy, tie and suit. Granted, her mom might have forgotten to say that it was a formal dinner, but Sora certainly wasn't a person to dress up. And if she'd shown up with Tai all dressed up for someone's funeral, it would've really gotten interesting.

"Evening, Tai."

"Hey, Meems...hi, Sora. Ready to go?"

"Uh...I guess."

"Okay, then. Let's vamoose."

"Have a good time, you guys."

Sora nodded, as she and Tai prepared to head out the door.

"And Sora?" Mimi added.

"Yeah?"

"Listen, if by chance you wanna stay over at your Mom's place-"

Sora responded in a loud voice, filled with conviction.

"Believe me, I WON'T."

"Okay, okay!" Mimi said, putting her hands up in protest. "Don't worry, you can **still** stay here!"

Sora smirked and nodded again.

As the door closed, Mimi exhaled slowly and sat down in a chair. Mimi hadn't been offended by Sora's outburst, but she was surprised as to how easily she forgot that (this) Sora disliked her mom a lot. She was glad that she didn't have such an unhappy relation with **her** mom (and dad).

The brunette went to the window just in time to see Tai and Sora leave. Mimi sighed and sincerely hoped that everything would work out...and not just between Sora and her mother. All she could say was...

"Good luck, you two."

* * *

"You gonna be cool, Sora? I mean, you don't have to do this if you feel you're not ready," Tai noted.

Had he asked a few minutes earlier, Sora might have agreed. But she knew that by now she was already past the point of no return.

"Thanks, but Mom sounded like she went to a lot of trouble to meet me. The least I could do is...say 'hello' or something. It just annoys me how Mom always seemed to wanna make me appear more feminine."

Tai suddenly stopped walking for a moment, making Sora curious.

"Well...maybe this will help."

"Huh?"

Sora looked at Tai carefully as he pulled a small white box (with a tiny pink ribbon on it) out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"Hmm," went the girl as she briefly inspected the box from the outside.

Sora didn't get all excited, but as always, she would treasure the gift, since it came from Tai. So she tried to think of something enthusiastic and exuberant to say when she closely examined the item. And in her sweetest voice she said...

"Huh?"

Inside the box was a hair clip.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Umm...it's a hair clip...you, uh, you put in your hair."

"Why that's **brilliant!**" she sarcastically commented. "I never woulda guessed!"

Tai nervously chuckled, as Sora closely inspected the smal item. Initially, it didn't seem like anything too special. It was metal, and had a yellow flower on it. But then she felt somewhat annoyed, because even though it probably wasn't intentional, it seemed Tai was also trying to make her look more...feminine.

"So what's **this** all about? You don't think my **hair's** nice?" she asked in an irritated tone, holding up the clip for him to see.

_Oh, MAN_, Tai thought. _Here we go __**again...**_

"Well, if you don't like it, then just be honest..." Tai said, panicking on the inside.

"All right, Tai...I'll tell you what I think of it..." Sora said, sounding angry.

_Here it comes._

Tai closed his eyes shut, turned away from her, and waited for the shouts, insults, or whacks.

"...it's kinda cute."

He opened his eyes.

"What?"

He turned around to see that Sora was looking at his gift happily.

"Really. I like it."

"REALLY?!"

"Yes!" she laughed. "Why, were you hoping that I wouldn't?!"

"It's just that...y'see, Sora didn't exactly give me the same response when I gave her a similar present for her birthday."

"Hey, it if was from you, Tai...then it's **treasure.** Anyway, I don't know what 'sis' was sick with that day, but I think it's cool. And I don't even **like** jewelry or makeup!"

Tai gulped and exhaled, while Sora took the hair clip and attached it around a tuft of hair on the right side of her head.

"So...how do I look?" she asked, showing off how she looked to Tai.

Tai couldn't help but smile at the wonderful girl.

"You look beautiful."

"Aww...you're only saying that 'cause it's true."

The two friends laughed as they walked hand in hand to Sora's old home. Sora would have been lying if she claimed that she wasn't nervous, but now she felt a little better overall.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long to walk the rest of the way there. Within a little less than ten minutes, the two of them had finally arrived at their "dreaded" destination.

Sora gulped just loud enough for the evening crickets to hear. As much as she wished she were somewhere else right now, the completely undeniable fact remained that she was actually standing in front of the door.

And behind this door was...

"You still don't have to do this, Sora," Tai noted. "If you wanna back out, I won't think of you any less for it."

For a moment, Sora seriously considered doing it, but decided that running away would just make herself look like a big coward who was afraid of her own shadow. And the last person whom she wanted to see such a thing was Tai. So the only logical course of action was to step forward...and-

**KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!!**

"There, I did it!" Sora said, retracting her arm from the wooden door.

"Don't worry, Sora! You're doing fine!" Tai said, holding her hand.

"I...I hope so..." Sora said, more to herself than Tai. "I guess I could've knocked **harder**, but...!"

Her thoughts stopped frozen in their tracks when IT happened. The front door opened wide, and the light from within the apartment shined upon the two teens.

Sora was flabbergasted, shocked into silence. She stood there like an exposed criminal, no longer able to conceal herself in darkness or shadows. And standing in the doorway...was her mom.

**

* * *

**

LIKE, TO BE CONTINUED, DUDES AND DUDETTES!

Well, here's another chapter completed! Next time, it's the moment Sora's double has been dreading for quite a while! Dinner with her parents! Tai's presence is sure to help smooth things along, but to what extent? Plus...it's the moment YOU, the readers have been waiting so long for! Sora (the second one) wants an answer to how Tai truly feels about her and he's finally gonna give it! But will his response be the one she wants? No foolin', cuz' this is it, fans! His answer decides the outcome of their love life forever! And will things EVER be the same between Tai and the "original" Sora? The only way know for sure is to tune in next chapter! And one way or another, I promise none of you will be disappointed with what happens! Gotta go!


	8. The Start of a Second Chance

**Disclaimer:** And the Lord said unto you..."I do not own Digimon."

**PREVIOUSLY...**

Investigating a rogue energy source coming from the Digital World, the Digidestined discovered a double of Sora Takenouchi living in Etemon's pyramid. This second Sora had identical features and similar memories of the Digidestined's first adventures, prompting Izzy to return her to the real world for examination, later pronouncing the two girls as the same person. The double quickly found a place to stay, as Mimi offered to have Sora "room" with her. But while Sora had survived all these years, so had her affections for her best friend, Tai Kamiya. Unfortunately, the "original" Sora had fallen in love with Matt, rendering Tai emotionally scarred. This caused him to resist the advances of Sora's double, leaving her heartbroken at his rejection. Still, Tai was inclined to spend time with her, especially when Mrs. Takenouchi wanted to greet her new daughter. Scared to meet her mother alone, Tai agreed to go have dinner with Sora and her parents, whom she did her best to prepare to meet again for the first time...

**Digimon - Second Chances For Sora**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 8 - The Start of a Second Chance

The pair couldn't do anything but stand and stare. They were almost completely frozen...Sora more than Tai. No surprise, though.

Sora nervously gulped and shivered a little. The fact that her mother was **right** there, in front of her just didn't seem to be able sink into her mind.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tai could see Sora's expression. And judging from the distressed look on her face, it was apparent that she wasn't going to make the first move anytime soon. So it looked like Tai would have to been the one to get the ball rolling.

"Uh...hey, Mrs. Takenouchi! We're here!"

Unbeknownst to Tai, Mrs. Takenouchi seemed to be at a loss for words just as much as her daughter. But she quickly noticed the growing silence and joined in.

"O-oh, right! Um...won't you both come in, please...!" she stammered.

Tai and Sora looked at each other and shrugged, before entered.

Sora did her best to pretend like she hadn't been here in years, since her mother was unaware that her daughter **had** been here a couple days ago.

But for Tai, it **really** had been a while since he'd visited Sora's home...for **obvious** reasons.

"One moment, you two. Dinner will be ready soon, so in the meantime I'll get you something to drink. Would you like a root bear, Tai?" Mrs. Takenouchi asked.

"Yeah, that'd be great," Tai quipped.

"Uh...! One for me...too..." Sora added.

Her mom nodded and headed into the kitchen, while the two teens sat down on the couch.

"Y'know what, Sor?" Tai asked Sora.

"Hmm?" went Sora, partially lost in thought.

"I kinda wish you **would** spend the night here."

"Oh, not you **too**..."

"Well, think about it. If you did...then you'd be able to invite me over to play more often."

It was then that Sora realized that Tai was trying to make a joke. She blanky stared at him for a second, then started to sincerely giggle. Tai laughed a bit, too.

Sora's parents peeked into the living room and saw them laughing together. Mrs. Takenouchi smiled at this, how Tai and Sora seemed to interact so...**naturally** with one another.

"Even after all this time..." she noted to her husband, "...they still seem like the best of friends."

"Indeed," Mr. Takenouchi agreed. "When you called me up and told me that our daughter had started to date that Matt kid, I started to get worried about how this might affect her best friend. But now that we've apparently had **twins**..."

"Yes?"

"Well, maybe there's still some hope after all...for the entire family, I mean."

"I'd like to think so, too. Here, honey...why don't you bring Tai and Sora their drinks?"

Mr. Takenouchi nodded, took the two root beer bottles, and headed into the living room.

"Umm...Sora?" he said a little nervously.

Sora looked towards the man who called her name. Even though her mother noted that he was home from his trip, Sora was somewhat surprised to see him standing there, plain as day.

"D...Dad?"

Her father nodded, and handed the kids their sodas. Sora moved a little to make room on the couch for him.

"Hi...well, as you can see...I'm back from my last business outing. But just because I've been away doesn't mean that I've missed you any less, Sora."

Sora acknowledged this fact and nodded. But before she could respond, Mr. Takenouchi started eyeing the hair clip she was wearing.

"That's a nice hair pin, sweetheart. Where'd you get it?" he gently asked.

"Huh?...oh, uh...Tai gave it to me..."

"Oh, that was nice of him. Wait a minute...that reminds me...y'know, your 'sister' has one just like that..."

"So I've heard."

"By the way...dinner will be ready in a few minutes, okay?"

Sora hesitantly nodded. Of course, anyone could see from a mile away the nervousness continuously brewing inside of her.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Sora," Matt said to his girlfriend over his cellular phone, "But I promised T.K., Izzy, Davis, and Kari that I'd head over to the miniature golf course with them."

"Golf, huh?" Sora asked, making sure her heard right.

"Yep. Why doncha join us? Then Kari won't feel so outnumbered by the guys..."

"Uh...thanks, but no. I was gonna catch a movie with the girls, anyway. I just wanted to know if you could see it with me."

"Oh, well...I'm sorry again, Sor."

"Me too," Sora said, nodding solemnly.

"Tell you what, I'll try to make dinner reservations at that nice French restaurant you like, okay? I know we haven't able to get together lately..."

"You're telling me. Well, I'll talk to you soon, all right? Love you, Matt."

"Love you too, Sora. See you later."

The fifteen-year old girl sighed as she turned off her phone.

"Yo, Sora! Over here! Come on!" yelled one of her friends standing outside the movie theater doors.

And before Sora knew it, she was already in a comfortable seat munching on popcorn, watching the movie previews.

* * *

Before Sora knew it, everyone made their way to the dining room table, eager to relieve themselves of their growing hunger.

Getting back to that "nervousness" thing for a moment, it should be noted and repeated that those emotions extended to Sora's mother, which proved to be just as intense.

"Um...Sora, I wasn't exactly sure what you wanted for dinner, so I prepared a few different dishes for you and Tai."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure that it's **edible**," Sora said almost coldly.

Her parents had no response, but instead sat down at table to begin their meal.

"Would you care for some curry? Maybe some stir-fried vegetables? Or how about some noodles?"

"Mom, take it **easy!** Don't bust a gut! I'll just pick my own food, thanks!"

Tai glared at Sora a little, and then glanced at Mrs. Takeouchi, who looked a little hurt at her daughter's outburst. He understood that Sora still felt hostile towards her mother, but she was clearly trying to make peace here. Sora's dad put a comforting hand on her wife's shoulder and attenpted to smile reassuringly. But try as **she** might, Mrs. Takenouchi found it difficult to do so.

Looking at Sora, Tai noticed that she was quitely munching away on some food. She had a death grip on her chopsticks, and amid her jaws chomping, her face displayed a grouchy expression that said-

"HMPH!"

As Tai sunk his teeth into a biscuit, he began to worry about how this whole evening was going to play out.

But then it hit him.

Was it possible that Sora wanted him to be there, not just for support, but also to make sure that she behaved graciously? Whatever the reason, Tai saw a chance to do just that. And right now, he seemed to be the only one who could start changing the uneasy enviroment here and now.

"Oh, uh...Mrs. Takenouchi!" he nearly sputtered, "These noodles are great! My mom usually relies on that instant junk you hafta buy at convenience stores!"

"I'm glad you like them, Tai!" she said, perking up a little. "I'd be happy to lend your mother a hand in the kitchen sometime!"

"That would be great. It's been a while since you've been over. My whole family misses you a lot."

"I'm sure they do," Mr. Takenouchi agreed. "Wouldn't that be nice, Sora? Our family getting together with Tai's? I sure it would be a splendid-"

"**Whatever**," Sora grumbled. "Just try not to pick out food for Tai's mom when you're over there..."

Tai stared wide-eyed at what Sora had just said. Not wanting to hear her parents gasp as Sora's rudeness, he did what was the only logical and seemingly necessary thing to do...**kick** her.

"OWW!" went Sora, as Tai's foot lightly kicked her jean-covered ankle.

"Are you all right?" asked her father.

"Ah...I'm fine, just a little ache in my ankle," she replied, reaching down to rub it.

"Um, do you have any ice packs, Mrs. Takenouchi?" Tai quickly asked.

"Yes, go to the kitchen. They're in the freezer," she said, pointing.

"Great, thanks! We'll be right back!"

With that said, Tai practically yanked Sora out of her seat and nearly dragged her into the kitchen. As the door to the kitchen slammed shut, Sora's parents just looked at each other and shrugged.

* * *

"All right, Sora! What was **that** all about?! Just what didja think you were **doing** in there?!" Tai hissed.

Sora grumbled again as she sat down in a chair while Tai opened the freezer door to grab an ice pack for her sore ankle.

"What do you **mean** what was I doing?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Sor! How could you even **think** of saying those awful things to your mom?!"

"I don't like her, okay!? Is **that** what you wanna hear? If not, then **tough!** That's all I have to say!"

While Sora and Tai argued, they still remembered to keep their voices low, so that the grownups wouldn't hear them.

"Listen, I realize that you resent your mom a lot! I should know, I was **there!** But a lot of things have changed in the past four years! Including her! She and your 'sister' get along now!"

Tai paused for a moment and handed Sora the ice pack, who pressed it to her right ankle.

"Well, that's all fine and dandy...but I **DON'T** feel like getting along with her!"

"Sora...I'm sorry you feel this way. I can only imagine the kind of things she did to you that seemed unfair. But she's here now, and she really does wanna make peace...with **both** of her daughters!"

Sora almost looked like she ready to cry, but she didn't.

"I'm sure the memories still hurt...but your parents are **really** trying to give this reunion their all, and you **can** behave better than this! You're not trying very hard."

"I am too!"

"Well, try **harder!!**" Tai hissed again.

"I...I don't know..."

"If you won't do it for her...then **please** do it for me."

Tai locked eyes with her, his face full of determination. Then, something occurred in the next few seconds (through it seemed like hours) that would finally symbolize a true change of heart...

Sora nodded.

"Okay."

"Thanks, Sora," said Tai, finally smiling. "And..."

Sora's curiosity was piqued when the smile turned into a half-frown.

"**And?**"

"And...sorry I kicked you."

Sora looked at Tai with an expression of amazement. But then she couldn't help what happened next. Her eyes closed, she covered her mouth with one hand, and began to giggle in the cutest fashion.

Tai chuckled a little too, and took Sora's hand.

"Okay, so just to make sure...you REALLY ready this time?"

"Yes," Sora stated, with a small amount of confidence. "Let's go."

* * *

Sora's parents were casually talking when Tai and their daughter reentered the room.

"...and afterwards, I found it **jumping!** I just **couldn't** believe it!"

"Wow, amazing! That's one heck of a story!"

"Mrs. Takenouchi?" Tai interrupted.

The two adults turned their heads to see what Tai wanted.

"Sora has something she needs get to get off her chest...**doncha?**"

"Umm...yeah..."

Sora stepped forward and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Ah...well, uh..."

The girl took another deep breath and finally said what needed to be said.

"Mom...I'm **sorry.** I really...I mean, I **honestly** didn't mean those things I said back there...but there's no excuse for it. **Please** forgive me...same to you, Dad."

Her parents smiled warmly as they watched their daughter bow in respect before them.

"Do you need a hug, sweetie?" asked Mrs. Takenouchi tenderly.

"Umm...no offense, but I don't really...er..."

Maybe it was due to the guilt coursing through her system, but whatever the reason, Sora couldn't finish her sentence.

Sora's mother nodded, understanding.

"Well, now that this fiasco is finally over with..." Mr. Takenouchi interrupted, "...how about we all finish our dinner?"

"That's fine with me!" announced Tai.

So with the worst of the evening over and done with, Tai, Sora, and her parents continued and finished their dinner. And when Sora's mother or father asked her a question, she responded as politely as she could. Then came a delicious desert consisting of pie and ice cream.

Afterwards, the four spent some time in the living room looking through some old photos...some of which were of Tai and Sora at very early ages. Unfortunately, these started to remind Tai of all the good times he and Sora had shared over the years. As he sipped a cup of tea, he tried to block out the annoyingly persistent fact that things between him and the "first" Sora weren't so great right now.

But soon thereafter, Sora realized that it was starting to get late, so she motioned for Tai to stand up and move, and she then (sincerely) bid her parents goodnight.

"Well, goodnight to you, Sora..." said Mrs. Takenouchi as she stood in the doorway to see the two teens off. "I hope that you'll drop by again sometime soon."

"Yes, it was a pleasure to finally meet you face to face," added Sora's dad.

"Umm...th...thank you very much for having me..." Sora replied, bowing.

"Thanks for putting up with me too!" Tai added.

Sora's parents chuckled, and waved as been the two teens left. But before they got out of hearing range Mrs. Takenouchi called out once more to her daughter...

"Sora!!"

The girl ceased her walking, and turned her head in the direction of the voice.

"I just want you to know that...you're always welcome here. This IS your home!"

Sora said nothing, but put on what looked like a sad smile, and she almost unnoticeable nodded.

But her mother saw, and deep inside she cried tears of joy in knowing that she was really starting to connect with her "second" child.

Emotions were definitely starting to brew in Mrs. Takenouchi's daughter as well, while Tai walked her back to Mimi's apartment.

* * *

"So?" asked Tai.

"So...what?" went a curious Sora.

"Was this dinner as bad as you thought it would be?"

Sora stopped walking for a moment, took a deep breath, then rolled her eyes.

"All right, I admit...it was...KINDA nice to be with Mom and Dad again..."

"There, ya see?!"

"Okay, okay, so **dumb** ol' Tai is right for once on his life! But I have to admit...I couldn't have done it without YOU by my side..."

"Sure you co-"

"NO! I really don't think I could...you and I are like...a flashlight and batteries. A flashlight won't work without batteries to charge them, and batteries are useless without an electrical device to charge. I know...it doesn't make too much sense, but..."

"Oh, no...I understand. But I'd leave all the analogies to Izzy."

There was more that Tai wanted to say, but time itself appeared to cease when he felt a pair of arms lovingly hug him from behind.

"Uh..." was all that he could get out.

But Sora just sighed in response.

"Um...Sora? Could...well, uh...ya think you could let go now?"

But she didn't.

"But I..." Sora nearly whispered, "**Why?**"

"Why what?"

"Why can't...why can't we...?"

Tai sighed in emotional confusion.

"Sora...you know why."

The girl slowly, but finally dropped her arms, and turned Tai around to face her.

"No, Tai...even after everything you've told me, I still don't understand."

After Sora had at long last put herself on the path to restoring her relationship with her parents, she decided to take another shot at reevaluating the connection with her best friend.

"Because..."

"Because **what?!**"

Tai gritted his teeth in anger and annoyance. But those negative feelings were directed at himself, not Sora.

"Because...I don't wanna...be hurt that way again..."

"Huh?! Look, all I-"

"No offense...but I think I'll walk home now. You know the way back to Mimi's apartment, right?"

"Well, yeah! But you and I have to talk about-"

"**Later**, Sora."

Sora was more confused than sad as she watched Tai slowly walk away into the distance.

Mimi wasn't home when Sora got back, but it was just as well. After yet another failed attempt to express her feelings to Tai, she really just wanted to be alone.

As she walked over to the fridge to get a drink to grab some juice, she saw a small note taped to the refrigerator door, meant for her.

"Hmm..." Sora went as sh started to read the note aloud.

"_Dear Sora...sorry, but before we left, my aunt told me that we'll be going across town to complete our errands. We may not be back until very late, so please don't worry. Love, Meems."_

Sora exhaled as she noticed something else written on the back. It said...

"_P.S. If you're really tired when you get back, feel free to use my bed to sleep in. –M."_

The girl smiled, then immediately yawned.

As Tai returned home, his parents were still quite awake. They were watching the news on TV, while Kari was away at a sleepover. He exchanged the usual greetings with them, and made his way to his room.

Tai plopped down on his bed and sighed, while thinking about the visit to Sora's "real" home. Although he was glad that Sora and her mother were starting to get along (again), that little display of raw romantic attraction near the end seemed to leap out of nowhere.

Not waiting to lie in uncomfortable silence, he decided to-

* * *

"-turn on the radio," Sora said to herself as she tucked herself under the covers. "Some music might help before I go to sleep."

Sora reached for the built in radio on Mimi's digital clock, and clicked the "RADIO" button. She continuously turned the dial on its side until she found a suitable radio station. A radio voice jumped in.

"-ere you have it! And now for more of our wonderful Late Night Romantic Song Countdown! So snuggle up to your main squeeze..."

"You've **got** to be kidding me!" Sora complained.

"...and ready your ears for romance! 'Cause we got-"

Like a snake viciously advancing torward its prey, Sora hastily shot out her arm and quickly switched off the radio without even having to look at which button to press. Sora laid back down in the bed, endlessly tossing and turning. After about half an hour, her mind was overflowing with the sting of rejection being cast upon her by Tai. No actual thoughts came to mind, but the feelings that arose were enough to cause her eyes started to water, bearing tears of sadness, disappointment, longing, and any other painful emotion known to man. Her lips began to shake and quiver, and she was calling on every last ounce of strength inside to resist the tempting urge to audibly cry, even though no one would have heard her.

* * *

Back at the Kamiya residence, Tai slapped his hand down on his radio's switch, not wanting to hear the love song countdown any more than Sora did. He swiftly wiped the accumulating sweat his forehead and the collected tears for his eyes. He was surprised that he hadn't noticed them sooner. Tai then spent the next half hour or so weighing the pros and cons of being romantically involved with Sora.

Similar to the way Mrs. Takenouchi had been trying to bond with her daughter, Sora was offering her heart to him, freely and eagerly. Potentially, this was something he had always wanted, and yet...something was holding him back. At the same time, he couldn't deny that he still felt strongly for his best friend and longed to take their friendship to the next level.

But still...

Although he was seriously considering such a thing now, he needed a second opinion. And he knew just where to go.

* * *

Located almost outside of town was an abandoned warehouse where Matt and his band, the Teenage Wolves, always practiced. Matt knew full well that a successful band must practice more than "often enough" if they wanted to make it, and he wasn't one to turn away from a little hard work.

As expected, Matt was there, sitting on a pile of small wooden crates, strumming a few tunes on his electric guitar. Tai knocked on the door-less frame outside the building to get his attention. Matt jerked his head up and smiled.

"Hey, Tai!" he said, immediately putting his guitar down. "What brings you here?"

"Just thought we could chat...if you got time, that is."

"I have plenty since the others went to go get some Chinese food, soda and pizza. They're gonna bring it back here, and we're gonna chow down like crazy. You can join us if you want."

"I've eaten already. But thanks, anyway."

"No problem, pal. So, what's on your mind?"

"Well...I could use your advice on something..."

Matt was more than willing to listen. And it didn't take long for the whole story to come out. From the moment he saw her, the blonde teen had a sneaking suspicion that possibly this new Sora still had intense feelings for Tai. Feeling sympathetic towards his friend's dilemma, Matt would not hesitate to exercise his powers of Friendship to do whatever he could to help.

"Man...must be stressful for the both of you. Sora's feeling the way you've always wanted her to, and you're ironically rejecting her advances."

"Thanks for repeating everything I explained in two sentences," Tai flatly replied, sitting down on a nearby crate.

"Sorry, man...look, **if** Sora truly likes you, then why resist? Take a moment to really think about the situation. It's what you've been wanting, so why fight it?"

"I don't know-"

"I think you do..." Matt interrupted. "You're afraid of being hurt again, right?"

"Yes."

"C'mon...no one wants to feel hurt, but this is your big chance for the two of you to live happily ever after."

"But I'm even more afraid that it won't work out. Being heartbroken once was more than enough."

"You'll never know if you don't give it a try."

"But **you** don't know what it feels like to have heart ripped out and **stomped** on without a second thought!"

Matt thought that Tai was exaggerating, but one thing was true...Sora barely thought twice about her decision in choosing boyfriends. What Tai said was true...Matt and Sora **had** struck gold on their first try in terms of finding lasting love.

_Hmmm_, Matt thought to himself. _As much as I hate to admit it, Tai's right. I DON'T know what it feels like...and I hope I never have to find out._

During their first adventures in the Digital World, it was no secret that these two boys went at it often enough. But this time around, Matt knew full well that emotionally, he had really slammed Tai **hard**. Luckily, he had matured enough to not gloat about it. When he got down to closely examining the situation, he was a **little** surprised that Tai still considered him a friend.

After Matt had briefly "turned traitor" against the rest of the Digidestined, fought with Tai and WarGreymon, and finally making his way out of his pit of darkness, he made it a point to become better friends with Tai. But now there was the matter concerning Sora.

Unfortunately for Tai, his two good friends hit it off rather quickly and grew to love each other easily. Matt was almost one hundred percent certain that his friendship with Tai was over when they decided to inform him of the news that they were...official.

At that moment, Matt and Tai stared at each other and quickly realized that they were both thinking about the same thing.

"Hey, sorry!" Matt sputtered. "Didn't mean to bring back any painful memories..."

"S'okay, man..."

"No, it's not...when you started caring for T.K. in the Digital World, I hafta admit...I got really jealous when he started to look up to you more than me. But I came to realize that it was partially because I couldn't be around to protect him. And by the time we all linked up with each other again, T.K. said he didn't need my help. I soon came to realize that it wasn't just because he'd grown a lot, but because you showed him to be brave and how to stand up for himself when he was all alone."

"And all that means...?"

"It means you gave me and T.K. a lot to benefit from. Not to mention that you've greatly inspired just about every member of the Digidestined to some extent."

"So?"

"So...it just feels like you've given us so much, being our unofficial leader and all...and we've given you so little."

"Thanks for reminding me."

"Sorry again. Look, point is...maybe you're finally being rewarded **now.** You've been given a second chance to get what you what. Being the person you are and considering everything you've done, it's no surprise that life would deal you this kind of hand. **Don't** pass up the chance to take advantage of it."

"But...what if I mess it up? What if...I make the wrong choices?"

"Tai...I asked the Gabumon the same thing when I was hurting and confused. And I'll tell you what he told me. I know pretty well who you are at heart...I'm sure that the choice you make will be the right one."

Tai stood up and finally smiled. He turned towards Matt and nodded confidently.

"Thanks, man."

"Anytime, bro. Now go on, get the heck outta here," Matt replied, smiling too.

Tai nodded again and ran out of the warehouse as fast as his feet would carry him.

* * *

The next day, Tai found that he was in a slightly better mood than usual, partially due to the fact that it was the first day of his school's two-week vacation. And Tai was **never** one to pass up a chance to sleep in longer than usual. It was a little after ten when he woke up.

But today he was filled with renewed confidence, like he had a new purpose in life, and he immediately decided to tackle that purpose head on. Tai raced over to the phone to call up Mimi. He almost bumped into Kari, who was sort of sleepwalking into the kitchen.

Mimi herself had decided to sleep in, too. In her pink bed she tossed and turned between the pale pink bed sheets, as an annoying ringing made its way into her ears, causing her to grumble. She tried to smother her own face with her pink, soft, fluffy pillow, but the ringing continued. Mimi growled and picked it up.

"M'kay..." she said sleepily. "Unless th' world is comin' to an end...**WE'RE NOT BUYING ANYTHING!!**"

"Meems, **chill!** It's me, Tai."

"Oh, **go away!**"

Tai tried not to laugh at Mimi's fatigued whining.

"Wait, is Sora there? I need to talk to her!"

Mimi groaned and brushed some fingers through her tangled light chocolate hair, but growled again when they got stuck!

"No, she's not here..." she replied through gritted teeth. "...she, uh...wanted to get an early start, so she went into town to buy some pastry ingredients. We're planning to bake brownies tonight."

"Ah, I see...well, if she drops by, tell her that I called. In the meantime, I'm gonna go look for her."

"Fine, fine, do whatever you want, have fun. Now would you kindy **get lost?! **I need my beauty sleep! Do you think it's EASY to look as gorgeous as me **every** single day??"

Tai chuckled. "I understand, Meems. See ya and have a nice, lazy morning."

"Bye..." she said groggily as she hung up.

Mimi obnoxiously yawned, aggressively turned over on her stomach, mushed her face into the mattress, and pulled the pillow over her head again.

* * *

Sora looked at her red watch as she casually walked to the bus stop. In hand was a bag of cooking ingredients, for the coming evening.

_I hope that I can pick up some cooking pointers from Mimi_, Sora thought. _Well, tonight I find out if I'm able to cook more than just..._

"SORA! SORA!!"

"Huh?"

The girl turned her head in the direction of whatever was calling her name. But she smiled when she saw who it was.

"Sora! Over here, it's me!" Tai yelled as he ran down the block after her.

"Hey, Tai! What's up?" she said cheerfully as she saw him approaching.

No matter what the situation, she was always glad to see her "bestest" friend in the whole, wide, world.

That very friend had now just reached the bus stop, but before he could say anything, he slightly bent over to catch his breath. Sora just stared him in concern. What could be so important that he came sprinting down the sidewalk like a maniac?

After a few seconds, Tai's breathing finally started to slow down.

"Umm, no offense...but I'm waiting for the bus to come. So you better make it snappy," she said with a cute little giggle that was impossible for someone to ignore.

Someone...like Tai.

_That does it_, he thought with searing rage of blazing emotions in his heart.

Sora became a little scared as Tai marched closer to her. She gulped and took a couple of steps backwards.

"Tai? T-Tai, w-w-what are you do-"

Sora gasped and her eyes were as big as dinner plates as she realized that Tai was actually **kissing** her! As he grabbed her firmly by the shoulders, nothing else seemed to matter anymore and the bag of groceries in her hand were dropped and spilt onto the sidewalk, already long forgotten. Sora felt a bit intimidated at first, so much so that she kept her eyes wide open. Mild embarrassment swept through her veins, causing her cheeks to redden.

Breaking apart, Sora's mouth curled into a half-smile at Tai's sudden change in heart. Whatever the reason was behind this turn of events, she wasn't about to argue. The two teenagers just stared at each other in realization of what just took place.

"Tai..." she said between breaths. "Is this-"

But the girl was forced to close her eyes again as Tai pulled her in again for another kiss. This time, however, she responded accordingly, gently wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him even closer. For the first time, both felt as if they had full access to each other and every single molecule that made up their being.

While the two teenagers embraced, the very bus that Sora had been waiting for came. But maybe it was just as well that none of the passengers had to get off at this stop, however, a couple of them whipped out cameras and took pictures at the romantic encounter which was taking place. The bus driver opened the doors and repeatedly asked either teen if they were getting on. But Sora and Tai completely ignored anything that was occurring outside their private little world. The driver then just shrugged, closed the doors, and drove off.

Finally, they let go again, and Tai decided to let Sora talk.

"Okay, Sora...what were you gonna say?"

"I don't know and frankly...I don't care," she said dreamily.

"Sorry," Tai noted. "I...made you miss your bus."

But Sora just stared her love.

"What bus?" she finally asked.

Tai laughed heartily at her words.

"Tai..." Sora began to ask with a small amount of caution in her voice. "Is this for real? Tell me you're **not** messing with my head."

"This couldn't be more real if you wanted it to be..."

"Then...you mean..."

"I realized last night...that I have a second chance to make things right, and give it a happy ending."

"You're wrong about that," Sora corrected him.

"Oh, am I?" he said, still smiling.

"Mm-hm," she said bravely. "There won't be a happy ending for us...just a happy existence."

"Whatever you wanna call it, I'll take it! I don't just love you...what I feel for you can't even be put into words..."

"Then don't try," Sora stated with a wink.

"And to think I originally just wanted to **talk **to you this morning!"

"Well, then...we should talk more often like this. Matter of fact..."

"Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Okay."

With nothing left to say, Tai and Sora embraced each other once more, and sweetly kissed one another in broad daylight. Their hearts were filled with passionate, loving emotions, and their minds had never clearer. And their souls had been imbued with renewed confidence, and something told them that from now on, they'd be able to handle anything better than ever.

**

* * *

**

(This story is SOOOO) TO BE CONTINUED...

To tell ya'll the truth, this fanfic is over! **NOT!** You didn't really think it'd end **here**, did you? Things are just starting to get good! It's **FAR** from over! The next chapter details...Tai and Sora's **FIRST DATE!** A chapter you'd be a fool to miss! **SO DON'T!**


	9. First Date

"_I own Digimon!"_

"_NO, NO, NO, __**dumb butt!**__ You DON'T own Digimon! Get it __**right**__ next time!!"_

**Digimon - Second Chances For Sora**

* * *

**Chapter 9 - First Date**

"NO WAY, MIMI!!" a voice bellowed from an apartment building.

"Sora, stop fussing about it!" replied a high-pitched feminine voice.

In Mimi's apartment, Sora had just gotten out of the shower. And ever since she was told that Tai and Sora finally got together, she acted like a true friend, wanting to do everything in her power to make absolutely sure that their outing would be a memorable one. After her friends' "encounter" at the bus stop, they immediately decided that it was way past time to go out on their first date.

So in order to help make their date something extremely special, Mimi picked out a few nice dresses for Sora to wear for the evening.

As soon as Sora stepped into Mimi's bedroom, she was shocked at the sight of how many dresses Mimi owned, not to mention the fact that Sora wasn't ready at all to start wearing them.

"This is cruel and unusual punishment! You can't **do** this to me!"

"Look…at some point in life, you're gonna hafta start wearing a dress, so it might as well be tonight!"

"But I'll look so **stupid!**" Sora replied, clutching the wet towel covering her body.

"I don't think Tai will mind! Besides…he's gonna be dressed up, too! I made reservations at a nice, classy restaurant for the both of you! And that joint has a **strict** dress code! So are you gonna pick a dress out or do **I** hafta do it for you!?"

Sora groaned, sat on the side of bed, and reluctantly looked through the number of outfits Mimi had laid out.

* * *

"I dunno, you think a tie is too much? How about a bow tie?" Tai asked as he rummaged though his dresser picking out three different ties at once.

Kari giggled as she sat on Tai's lower bunk watching him decide.

"No, a traditional tie should be okay for this," Kari cheerfully replied.

"If you say so…I just wanna look good for her. So, which tie do you think I should wear?"

"Hmm…" went Kari as she took a good look at each of them.

The first tie her brother held was a red one with two thin diagonal stripes near the bottom, orange and black. The second was a navy blue. And the last was a forest green with yellow dots all over it.

"Well, that green one is just plain **ugly**…the blue is nice, but I dunno…a little too melancholy."

"Then I guess that leaves me with the red," Tai stated, putting the other two back into his dresser.

"Here let me help you with that…you've never been too good when it comes to ties."

Tai nodded as Kari got off the bed and tied it for him. Then he tucked in his shirt, put on a black sports jacket, and a pair of nice black shoes.

"Hmm…" he went as he looked into a mirror. "Should I put gel in my hair and slick it back or something?"

"No, it's fine as it is," Kari noted. "You brushed it, and that's enough."

"But it still looks the way it always does…all spiky and everything."

"Tai, I'm sure Sora will like it no matter what…now get moving! You wouldn't wanna be late for the most important night of your life!"

"Gotcha!" Tai exclaimed, almost racing out the door.

Kari giggled, but stopped when Tai walked back into their room.

"Did you forget something, big brother?" Kari asked sweetly.

"Yeah…**this.**"

Without hesitation he advanced towards his little sister and swept her up into a big hug.

"Tai…what…?"

"I don't think I could've made it without you, sis. I **really** owe you a lot."

"Aww, c'mon…"

"No, I mean it…I love you, Kari."

"I love you too, big bro."

"Tell you what? Next time you're free, I'll take you out on the town to do **whatever** you want. I'll even pay for your next date with T.K.!"

"Oh, yeah?"

"With a sweetheart like you, I'd do anything to help the two of you get all kissy, kissy again!"

It didn't take long for Kari's face to turn beet red at the mere thought of **kissing** T.K., even though she'd done it before. But she immediately snapped out of her daze.

"Hey, w-wait a minute!" she exclaimed, mildly embarrassed. "Y-you're changing the subject! Doncha have a date to get to?"

"Oh, right…gotta move! Later, Kari! I'll tell ya all about it when I get back!"

"Bye! And good luck, Tai!" she said, waving.

* * *

"Here, lemme zip you up," Mimi offered.

"Sure."

Sora had finally picked out a fine dress…so to speak. To be blunt, it wasn't ugly, but it wasn't at all flashy either…which was probably and exactly how Sora wanted it. It was a simple sleeveless, black dress with no fancy collar, frills, spaghetti straps or stuff like that, with the skirt going down as far as the top of her knees.

After Mimi zipped up Sora's dress from behind, she moved on to the next order of business that Sora would definitely find…disturbing.

"Here, Sora…**high heels!**" the brunette chirped, holding out a pair from her closet.

"Uh-UH! **Forget** it! Those things will give my feet blisters!"

"Oh, hmm…well, if those aren't to your liking…then how about these?"

Sora also "hmm-ed" as she looked at the second pair of shoes. They were black, almost identical to the first pair, but they had thicker heels and weren't nearly as high.

"**Guess** they'll do…" Sora grumbled as she slipped the shoes onto her feet.

"Next, some perfume…" Mimi said as she took out a small bottle of liquid, and sprayed a little in Sora's face, causing her to cough.

"**Hey**…! Cough, cough…watch…hack…w-watch where you p-po…wheeze…**point** that thing!"

"Sorry," Mimi shrugged. "And last – but certainly not **least** – a little bit of…**lipstick!**"

"NO!"

"Oh, Sora…honestly! Act your age! Besides, doncha wanna look nice for tonight's date?"

"Well, yeah! But…!"

"Then stop fidgeting!"

Mimi pulled a small black box out of her desk where Sora was sitting at. She almost gasped when it was opened. Inside were fifteen lipstick brands! No doubt she was going to choose an appropriate shade which to color Sora's lips. While Mimi rummaged through them, Sora took out the hair clip that Tai gave her and once again put it in her hair. Ever since Tai had given it to her, she almost never went without it.

"Lesse here…" Mimi muttered, while checking out each shade of lipstick.

Sora just rolled her eyes.

"Red? No, too traditional. There's pink! Ah…cute, but wrong. How about purple? Hmm…not bright enough. Orange?? Nah, too flashy. Hey, this one should…oh, no wait, that's chapstick. BLACK?! WAY too gothic. Green? When did I buy THAT? White…mm, nope, it's got no character. Hmm…"

"Do you go through this kind of 'ritual' EVERY time you go out?" Sora asked mockingly.

But Mimi whipped her head around and stared into Sora's eyes almost angrily.

"How dare you, Sora! NEVER mock…my LIPSTICK!!"

"Uh…yeah, right," Sora replied in a nervous sweat.

Mimi quickly turned back to choosing the appropriate lipstick shade for Sora.

"Ah! **Here** we are! This'll be perfect!"

"Hm? Whaddya have there?"

"The **perfect** shade of lipstick for you to wear!" Mimi said happily. "**Behold!**"

"What is it?"

"It's light pink! It'll look beautiful on you!"

"If you say so…" Sora said, shrugging.

Mimi bent over a little to apply the lipstick to Sora's lips. The job was done in less than five seconds.

"Okay, now take this!" Mimi said, handing a small tissue to Sora.

"What's it for?" Sora asked.

"Put it between your lips to wipe any extra lipstick off."

"Umm…all right…"

Sora did just that, and Mimi took the tissue and threw it away.

"There!" Mimi exclaimed, standing behind her friend and placing her hands on her shoulders. "Whatcha think now, Sora?"

The shorthaired girl stared at her own reflection in the mirror. As much as Sora didn't want to admit it, she DID look pretty. Over the past four years, Sora and her twin had both become very lovely young women.

"I…I **guess** I look okay…" she said in a worried voice, blushing.

"You look **more** than okay! You're **gorgeous!**" Mimi said happily, gently hugging Sora from behind.

**KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!**

"Ooh, it's **finally** the moment the you've been waiting for! That must be Tai!!" Mimi squealed.

"Uh…Mimi, could you get the door? There's **one** more thing I need to take care of…"

"OHHH!" Mimi playfully huffed with a wry smile. "Fine, but you better have your butt out here in the next **ten** seconds!"

Sora nervously laughed again as Mimi went to answer the door. After she left, Sora picked up the jeans she was wearing a few hours ago. Digging into the back pocket she pulled out a small mysterious little pendant which she then put around her neck…

After attaching the red watch Mimi had bought her around her left wrist, she seemed good to go. Sora took one last look at herself at the mirror and lightly touched her bottom (lipstick-covered) lip. She still felt a bit uncomfortable with how she looked, all dressed up and everything. True she looked nice altogether, but…she wasn't exactly satisfied. This just wasn't her. Maybe her "twin sister" had become accustomed to dressing up like this regularly, but it wasn't the same here.

Another factor nagging at her mind was how this date would go. She really wanted everything to proceed smoothly. Not only was this her first date **ever**, but it was with her best friend! Her BEST FRIEND! While he was so cute and wacky and loving and caring…she wasn't sure what **she** had going for her. Just a few days ago, she was trapped in the Digital World, covered in dirt and dust, wearing raggedy clothes, and living in an old upside-down pyramid.

But on the other hand, she was currently staying at a more than moderately nice apartment back on Earth, with one of her oldest friends, and she'd started to reconcile with her parents (and especially with her estranged mother). And lastly, there was again the undeniable fact that she was about to venture into a date with the one person in the entire world that meant more than anything to her.

In retrospect, it was practically the tale of Cinderella, going from rags to riches, so to speak. So maybe in the long run of things, there **was** some balance for her!

* * *

"Hey, Tai! Come on in!" Mimi politely said, letting the spiky-haired boy in.

"Yo, Meems!" he shot back. "Listen, I…WHOA!"

Tai gulped, just now realizing that Mimi wasn't dressed. Well, that wasn't exactly true, but it looked as if she was getting ready for bed. Half of her hair was in pink curlers, her feet were stuffed into a pair of hot pink, soft, fluffy slippers and the only piece of clothing she seemed to be wearing was a large pale pink T-shirt that just barely covered the entirety of her thighs. On the shirt in big, red letters was the phrase "I LOVE BOYS".

Mimi didn't catch on quickly to what Tai was staring at, until a red streak appeared across his face. Try as he might, he couldn't tear his eyes off of her…**legs.** The girl crossed her arms and began to glare at him.

"If you keep staring at my legs, Tai…then the only place you'll be going on this date is the **hospital.**"

Tai gave off a nervous chuckle, much like the way Sora did.

"Umm, SO! Where is Sora?"

Mimi moaned in annoyance, and walked over to the doorway that led into her bedroom.

"Sora, c'mon out! Tai's here, y'know!" Mimi noted.

"I'm **not** coming out!" hollered a voice from the bedroom.

"Look, I did not make prepaid dinner reservations and get you all dressed up so that Tai could go STAG!!"

"Forget it, I look **stupid** in this dress! It's embarrassing!"

"Don't make me drag you out!"

"I just can't do it!"

"That's it, I'm comin' in there!"

"Wha-NO! Stay back!"

"Sorry, Sora! I tried to be nice and reasonable…but YOU had to be DIFFICULT!"

"STOP!"

Tai scratched his head as Mimi walked into her own bedroom, with a series of "bangs" and "clatters" immediately following, coming from the room.

"One moment, Tai…" Mimi said sweetly as she quickly stuck her head out of the doorway. "…Sora's just feeling a little shy."

"Okay, Sora…you forced me to do this!"

"Hey…! Whaddya think you're…PUT ME DOWN!!"

Tai stared as hard as he could, as his eyes and brain tried to comprehend what was happening right now. Mimi was now hauling Sora across her back! Finally making her way near the door, Sora was put down, but she was still making a bit of a fuss.

"Give it up, Sora!"

"No Mimi, I DON'T WANNA-"

But her words were cut short as she was "placed" face to face with Tai, who finally got a good eyeful look at how lovely she looked.

"Uhh…hi," she said hastily, blushing at how she was dressed.

"Hi," Tai repeated, who couldn't stop smiling. "Wow…you look…spectacular…!

The two of just stared at each other, virtually frozen until Mimi decided to introduce some sound into the vicinity.

"Why, Tai!" Mimi said rather loudly in a sickly sweet voice, holding out her arms towards Tai. "After all these years, you **finally** notice me…! I didn't know you cared!"

Tai started smiling, catching on to what Mimi was doing. He decided to play along.

"Of course I care, my **sweet** Mimi! Why would anyone want to date a completely dressed up and most perfect girl, when I can have a plain gal in a T-shirt and curlers?"

Sora started to growl as her two friends advanced towards one another, as if to hug.

"All right, **all right!** That's enough! You've made your point, Mimi! I'll go already, **okay?!**"

Tai and Mimi laughed heartily for a moment and finally calmed down.

"Oh, wait!" Mimi said, snapping her fingers. "I forgot one more thing! Stay there, you two! I'll be right back!"

Mimi rushed back to her bedroom, while Tai once again checked out Sora.

"Sora, you…look…"

"Choose your words **carefully**, Tai."

Tai laughed a little, put his hands in his pockets, and smiled confidently.

"I've never, **ever** seen anything more beautiful."

Sora blushed again and stared at the floor, scratching the back of her head.

"Oh…th-thank you…"

"Here it is!" Mimi almost yelled, quickly walking back into the room with two items in her hands. "First…here are the directions to the restaurant, Tai. Wouldn't want you to accidentally walk outta town while looking for the place!"

"Thanks, Mimi," Tai said taking the small map from her.

"And for you, Sora…here's your **purse!**"

"Great…" Sora muttered.

"Hey, don't knock it 'til you've used it! Inside is **everything** you need!"

Sora took the black leather purse from Mimi and rummaged through it.

"Hmm, there's some extra money in here…some tissues, a hairbrush…more lipstick…a small compact mirror…and a spray can of mace??"

"It always came through for me whenever I ended up with bad dates in America! Now get going, you two!"

Tai and Sora looked at each other and nodded.

"Let's go!" they both said excitedly.

With that, the front door was closed and the two of them were off.

* * *

Back at the Takenouchi home, a chain of minor events were beginning that would soon initiate feelings of pain…and possibly a fair amount of jealousy.

"Sora, honey?" Mrs. Takenouchi asked.

"Yeah, Mom?" hollered Sora from her room.

"I'd like you to quickly go to the store and fetch me some flour."

"Aww, Mom! It's already late, and I'm sorta on the phone with my friends right now!" she whined.

"Sora, you can talk on the phone almost anytime! I **need** that flour!"

"All right…I'll do it," Sora said with a sigh, hanging up.

"Thanks, sweetie," Mrs. Takenouchi said, pulling some money out of her purse. "And here's a little extra cash if you want to buy a snack or something."

"Right," Sora grumbled, stuffing the money into her pocket. "I'll see you later."

* * *

It hardly took anytime to get to the restaurant. Tai and Sora walked in, arm in arm. As soon as Tai identified himself, the two of them were immediately guided to a table. The place seemed huge. The lights were dimmed, many other couples sat at other tables or booths. Also, paintings and beautiful potted plants were seen everywhere, and every side of the restaurant had fairly large windows giving anyone a great view of the city outside.

In the back a hired band was playing some soft rock and jazz music, which proved to be very calm, and soothing. Even though Tai decided to fall (back) in love with Sora, it was still tough for him to work up the nerve to ask her to dance, provided she could dance at all.

A waiter soon came to their table with glasses of water, and a small bowl of red food. Neither teen was sure about what it was, but they were always willing to try new things.

"Some appetizers, sir," said the waiter.

"Thanks," they both replied simultaneously.

"Hmm…" went Sora as she picked a piece of food out of the bowl. "Wonder what this is?"

"Only one way to find out," Tai said.

The two nodded and popped the food into their mouths. They chewed for a few seconds, until-

"PAAAAFFFFF!!" was the only noise they made as they quickly came to realize just how SPICY the food was!

They wasted no time in gulping down their water. The waiter immediately came back to replace their drinks.

"So…" Tai tried to say, "…whatcha think?"

"Well…" Sora rasped, "…a little hot…but not bad."

"Excuse me, sir…but there is an alternative if you do not wish to order from our usual menu choices…" the waiter noted.

"Yeah? What?" Tai nearly whispered.

"There IS a buffet over there, for customers to choose other foods that are to their liking. Perhaps the two of you would prefer to sample them?" the waiter said before he walked away.

"Whaddya say? Do we try the cuisine from the menu…or the buffet?"

Sora locked eyes with Tai from across the small round table for a few quiet seconds.

"BUFFET!" they both said, strongly nodding.

* * *

"Okay, Sora…all set!" cheerfully replied the purple longhaired girl behind the convenience store counter.

"Thanks, Yolei…" said Sora, putting the change into her pocket. "Hey, I thought you were sick."

"Nah, I got better about two days ago…" she explained. "But my mom wanted me to stay in bed – or at least take it easy – for a little while longer."

"Oh, I see. Well, glad to see you're feeling better."

"Thanks! So…how have YOU been?"

"Me?"

"Yeah…" Yolei said, while adjusting her thin, round glasses. "Davis and Cody visited me while I was sick, and told me about your new 'sister'. I wanted to know how you were handling it."

"I'm, uh…handling it as best I can. SHE's been rooming with Mimi, who's visiting."

"Oh…I should drop by and say 'hi' to both of them."

"Look, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later, Yolei. And thanks for the flour."

"Anytime! Come again, Sora!" Yolei said, waving and smiling.

"Call me 'Sor'!" she yelled, running off to get home.

* * *

Tai and Sora got in line, picked up some plates and made their way through the buffet. Soon enough, they were sitting back down in their seats, happily munching on cheeseburgers, fries and Jell-O.

For the next ten minutes or so, the couple talked and chatted normally about this and that (between chews). Tai talked about the additional adventures he and the others endured in the Digital World and what she missed out on. But what really interested her the most was actually…Tai's upcoming soccer match.

"Wow! You're already in the semifinals? That's **great**, Tai!"

"Well, it'd be even greater if we could actually **win!**"

"Hey…that's **loser** talk, buster!"

"It's not the upcoming game I'm worried about…it's the game **after!**"

"What, the other team of finalists got you sweating?"

"The word 'sweating' doesn't do their handiwork justice…they demolished the other team in **their** semi-final game!"

"I take it 'demolished' means 'aced', am I right?"

"Right! I mean, they scored eight easy goals, and then they racked up five more…just for fun!"

Sora was pretty surprised at this little revelation.

"Whoa. Thirteen to nothing."

"And we really gotta keep our guard up this time around if we wanna to stand a chance against those team full of creeps. I **so** wish you still played soccer…wait a minute! Who says you **can't?**"

"Hm?"

"Hey, Sora! Why don't you join our soccer team? The team could really use your help on the field!"

Sora thought hard about the possibility of playing soccer again. The idea did appeal to her…but their were multiple factors that had to be considered beforehand.

"Wait! Don't I have to be a member of the school to play?"

"Well…my team isn't a **school** team, so it'd be okay. And the coach is a reasonable guy. I'm sure he'd let you play."

"Even if I'm a girl?" Sora asked with a wry smile.

"He's so worried about the next game, and so desperate for help right now that he'd accept anybody."

"Gee, I feel SO special…"

Tai laughed at Sora's remark.

"Chill, I didn't mean it like that. But I know how good you are at the sport and how much you love it. And to be honest…I never felt complete when the 'other you' quit soccer."

"She **did??**"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? Sora plays tennis now."

"Traitor…" she muttered in a playful voice.

"So whaddya say? You and me, on the field again, kicking goals like there's no tomorrow?"

"I'll think about it."

"Okay. That's all I ask."

Sora then changed the subject, which was (in its own way) slightly more interesting. She spoke about all the hardships and hazards she dodged and escaped, traveling by herself.

"But you wouldn't **believe** what happened after that!" she exclaimed, wiping some sauce off of her mouth with a napkin.

"Continue…I'm listening, Sor."

"Uh, no offense, Tai…but I'd prefer it if you just called me 'Sora'…"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah…I'm not too fond of that nickname."

"I see, I'm sorry. Anyway, go on," Tai said, genuinely interested in whatever she had to say.

"Well, you see…I got back to the Primary Village, right? So then, I-"

"Hey, wait a-" Tai said, pointing.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just…that necklace your wearing…it looks kinda familiar."

"Don't you recognize it? It's…my crest."

"Oh!"

"Yeah, my crest of…Love. From the Digital World," she noted hesitantly.

"I remember. We had to cross a gigantic desert, collect all of our crests, and outwit Etemon all at the same time. Gee, if I still had mine…I woulda wore it, too."

"Huh? What happened to yours?"

Tai took a deep breath, but decided to save that tale for another day. So…

"Long story."

…was all he said.

"I see. Well…anyway, I'm not really a fashion expert, but…I thought that wearing my crest for tonight might help make me look nice."

Tai stared at Sora with his brown, warm, loving eyes and sighed.

"You do. You're the most magnificent thing I've ever seen."

"Ooh!" Sora went sarcastically. "That **almost** sounded smooth!"

"Sorry…I'm not much of a sweet talker."

"It's okay…you still get a kiss," Sora noted sweetly, leaning forward, closing her eyes and puckering up.

Tai closed his eyes as well and leaned forward to-

"Hey, **lovebirds!**" interrupted a very familiar voice.

Sora and Tai turned their heads and were astonished to see **Matt!**

"Matt??" Tai went in a doubting voice. "What are YOU doing here??"

"Remember when I said that I landed a gig at 'one of those fancy, classy' places? Well, this is IT!"

"Oh!" Tai said in realization.

"Yep! Me and the band are gonna take five and get somethin' to eat! Man…don't the two of YOU look pretty?"

Tai and Sora blushed and stared at the floor.

Matt lightly chuckled, and quickly whispered in Tai's ear while Sora was looking away.

"By the way, man…after my band's break, we're gonna be performing a **slow** song. So get Sora onto the dance floor, and into the mood!"

"Right!" Tai whispered back, half-smiling.

The blonde then took his leave, and left the two lovers to enjoy the rest of their dinner.

* * *

"Hmm…" Sor said, as she crossed the street. "…it sure is getting dark. I'll hafta take the shortcut through the park!"

And across the street from where the park ended…was a restaurant.

* * *

"Excuse me!" Matt said over the microphone. "Lovers and couples, please step onto the dance floor, 'cause the boys and I got a sweet n' slow love song to grab your heartstrings with!"

Like a magical wish that was granted, a more than fair amount of people gathered onto the dance floor.

_Here goes nothing_, Tai thought. He slowly got out of his seat and walked over to Sora, who was quietly sipping her drink.

"Umm, Sora?"

"Yeah?" she said looking up from her drink.

"M-may…may I be granted the honorable privilege of a romantic dance with you?"

Sora giggled a bit.

"Tai…I thought you'd never ask."

Of course, both of them were pretty nervous about dancing with the other. But they'd mentally promised to themselves that they'd give it their all.

"Hey, wait a minute…" Sora said, somewhat suspiciously. "Since when do YOU dance, Tai?"

"Well, it's something I never told you, but…when I was five, my mom forced me and my sister to take dance lessons in preparations for my aunt's wedding that was coming up. So what's your story?"

"Me? Truthfully, I just picked up some pointers from television and movies."

Tai laughed, with the knowledge that in the back of his mind…dancing would become second nature to both of them for tonight.

In the next few seconds, he found out that he couldn't be more right. Before Matt's band started, Sora simply and gently draped her arms around Tai's neck and he, in turn, wrapped his arms around her moderately slim waist. Only then was Tai aware that she'd pulled him close long before the music even started.

"A little eager, are we?" he lightly teased.

"Anticipation builds the appetite," she swiftly replied.

"As I said before, leave the metaphors to Izzy."

Sora wanted to say more, but Matt and his buddies had already started playing a sweet, strong, romantic tune. Everyone on the dance floor started to gently sway and move to the music as Matt began to sing.

* * *

"_With no answer at that place, I__'__m hanging up the phone._

_I could see your quiet back profile seeming to cry._

_Even the sadness you intend to hide so well,_

_I understand everything_

_It was a promise, wasn__'t it?_

_Protecting you,_

_By my unburdened choice, is something I can do._

_If it leads to your happiness,_

_I don't think of wanting anything else__…_"

* * *

Tai breathed heavily, but it was a soft breath. Sora giggled a little as she could feel his heart beating in synch with hers…

* * *

"_Even if sadness shoots through the chest, at that time_

_believing in your strength,_

_Make it into an invisible shield__…_"

* * *

Tai loved holding on to Sora like this; something he wanted to do for a long time; to hold her in a way that didn't just represent friendship. And speaking of Friendship, he switched his vision over to the small corner stage where Matt was strumming his guitar and singing. In addition to Kari, he had Matt to thank, for helping to point Tai in the right direction. Though it would've been extremely inappropriate to talk during such a romantic ordeal, Tai knew very well that there were other ways of communicating. So he locked eyes with Matt from across the room, and handed his blonde friend a facial expression that said "thank you".

* * *

It was only about two more blocks until Sor would be back in her own warm, cozy apartment. She brushed a little bit of sweat off of her forehead, and then continued to walk. The last thing on her mind was the predicament with Tai and her sister. But that thought would soon jump to the head of the line in the next few moments…

…especially since the restaurant where her double and Tai were located was only a few steps away.

* * *

Back in that very building, the romance – as well as the amount of passion in the music playing – was steadily rising, as Matt and the Teenage Wolves continued to perform.

"_On your sleeping face_

_Burried in the sofa_

_I kissed you softly_

_Don't catch a cold…_"

* * *

For Sora, being held by Tai was the most wonderful feeling ever known to humans. And she was the only one here who was granted the chance to experience that sensation, which she didn't want to share with anyone. The girl closed her eyes, held onto Tai a bit more firmly, and sighed happily.

_He's so warm_, she privately thought. Sora closed her eyes, and even though she wasn't feeling sleepy, a million dreams and hopes for the future opened up in her mind. It was like someone had just cracked open a private safe in her head and all the riches inside had been distributed to the needy, leaving behind the echo of a pleasurable feeling.

True enough, it sounded crazy…but when you're truly in love with the one person in all the world who truly loves you back just as much, how much in life makes sense? How much **needs** to make sense?

* * *

"_You're beautiful_

_I'll be by you for eternity_

_Within in your dreams, feel this voice in a song_

_It's no hassle for me…"_

Outside the restaurant, "Sor" gasped as passed by the window. Inside, she saw **herself** and Tai slowly and carefully dancing together! Her mind started to race at an indescribable speed, stopping only to exercise the emotion of suspicion, then switching to confusion, next shock, and finally…panic.

* * *

Inside the restaurant, the atmosphere was **anything** but confusing, shocking, or panicky.

"When somewhere in your heart you can feel the glow,

A light to keep you warm when the night winds blow,

Look for the rainbow in the sky…"

As the music reached an instrumental "stage", Sora opened her head and lifted her head to briefly talk to-

"Tai?"

"Yeah?"

"It's kinda funny, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"Y'know…you and me, being here together…"

"I guess you could look at it that way…seeing as how you have a double who's dating Matt…"

But Sora just closed her eyes, sweetly smiled, and shook her head.

"No, that's not what I mean. I meant that it feels like yesterday we had just met, and as a result, we started playing together **every** day. Now, look at us…we're older, still close and best friends, we've faced real danger together, we're out on our first date…and finally in love with each other."

Tai smiled warmly.

"No argument there."

"If I remember right, we were only five when we met for the first time. I was a young girl playing in the sandbox and you were a small boy, kicking around a soccer ball nearby. And all it took was a simple misdirected kick towards that sandbox to make our eyes meet."

"I remember. You complained and called me a dummy for almost getting sand in your eyes."

"Hey, I still say you deserved it."

"It's funny…" Tai said in a unique tone of voice that Sora had never heard before. "When my feelings for you started to grow…I really thought she'd…YOU…would feel the same. Like it was destiny of something that we'd fall in love. After that Christmas…well…I gave up on it. I stopped believing in destiny. Then all of a sudden, YOU'RE back…and I finally have you."

"And?" asked Sora, wanting to hear his conclusions on the past and present situations.

"Now…I really don't know what to think."

"I think…" Sora said, still smiling. "That all of us have our own destiny. But they don't just come true, like a magical wish. We have to **make** them happen."

"I agree."

"All I know…is that you and I belong together, no matter **what** anyone says. This is the way it **should** be."

"And that's the way it'll be from now on," Tai agreed. "Don't you ever doubt that."

Sora shook her head again, understanding.

"And all I know…" he added, "…is that you're my everything, Sora. You were right the other day when you said we were like a flashlight and batteries. What you really meant was that we **needed** each other."

"Yep…" Sora replied, her mind about three fourths lost in the romantic mood she was in. But her ears still gripped onto what her lover was saying.

"When we met for that first time…I knew deep in my heart…that I wanted to be with you **forever**…"

Sora gasped as her eyes widened suddenly at the spoken words, and her cheeks suddenly flushed in partial embarrassment. She looked up at Tai to make sure that she was hearing what she always longed to hear from him.

"**I** need you, Sora. I love you, and I don't ever wanna lose you again."

Tai gulped as Sora now looked as if she was about to cry…and she was. Salty tears started pouring out of her eyes and her lips trembled. But these expressions were joyful, happy…and loving.

"T-Tai…I…I…! Oh, come here-"

Faster than shooting star, Sora lost the ability to talk and gained the experienced effort to kiss. Her eyelids headed downwards and rammed shut like the closing of a castle's drawbridge, only the other way around.

Tai felt his face being firmly cupped by Sora's soft hands, and as he closed his eyes, he felt the pleasurable sensation of her lips pressing against his ever so gently.

Matt quickly "checked" on Sora and Tai, and smiled when he saw how passionately his two friends were embracing. Even from far away he could see their tears, and he could almost feel the love radiating from their hearts, which were now larger than life and anything life had to offer. Their feelings for each other were so clear, that he almost forgot his cue to sing.

* * *

"_The feelings I give to you are an Angel Heart_

_But, I worried,_

_That the truth is you were my angel…_"

* * *

"No…" Sora whispered from outside, watching how they kissed. Her chest suddenly started to hurt.

* * *

"_Even if sadness shoots through the chest, at that time_

_Believing in your strength,_

_Make it into an invisible shield…_

_In the cornered crossroad where the rain could fall,_

_Like a miracle, we'd met by chance…_

_Make an umbrella of what is loved."_

As the music ended as softly as it had begun, Sora and Tai (who had ceased dancing when they kissed) finally let go of each other. The kiss had passed moments before, but the two of them continued to hug. They slowly opened their eyes as if they'd just been let out of some sort of hypnotic trance. The teens just looked at each other and breathed heavily, and their cheeks had turned completely red.

But from the other side of the restaurant's windows, one person's cheeks became stained with tears of pain.

Sor just couldn't watch any longer, and ran off blindly into the night. She didn't even care where she was headed. All she knew was that she desperately wanted – at all cost – to get as far away from those two as possible. As she ran faster and faster she squeezed her eyes shut, covering them with her arm. No doubt about it, the sad truth about the situation presented itself…she was crying.

And she didn't know why…

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

* * *

Well, first of all…thanks and kudos to all who have been patient to wait for every painful update, and congratulations on making it this far! You have my respect! Anyway, next chapter…Sora tries to join the soccer team! Will they let her? And will her help be enough to help Tai's teammates go all the way to the top? And if that weren't enough, Mimi reveals a special "bedside confession"...sort of. I guess there's not much else you can do but keep on reading! And the answers will unfold before you!

Additionally, the song "Angel Heart" was (originally) performed by Keiji Fujiwara. Man, I almost forgot to mention that…bye!

Now, if only Mr. Disclaimer would get his damn lines right…


	10. Soc It To Me

I don't own Digimon. (Dammit, now where did I put that "Disclaimer" sign?)  
  
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Second Chances For Sora - Chapter 10  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
R...  
  
R...u...  
  
R...u...n...  
  
Run.  
  
RUN!  
  
Run, run, run, run, RUN!!!  
  
The primary instinct of all smaller animals being hunted was to run. Run away out of anger or sadness or confusion or just about any negative emotion. But for Sora Takenouchi...her reasons for running were all of the above...and more.  
  
Watching her twin sister and her (former) best friend spend time together was stressful, and now the two of them were on their first date. Seeing them dance together so closely was hard enough...but closely observing them share a kiss, busting full of love, care, protection, and sweetness was the final straw aboard the camel's back.  
  
As much as Sora tried to explain it, she couldn't. Tai was finally happy, with a trusting and promising girlfriend of his own now. So shouldn't that mean that she should be happy for him, too? Could it have been that they looked a little TOO happy with each other?  
  
Not that HER love life was in any real jeopardy at the current moment. Sure, she and Matt hadn't been able to get together since their six-month anniversary picnic (which had gone rather smoothly if any of you were wondering), but there were no plans to break up anytime soon. What was her problem? What was this pain she felt?  
  
But getting back on track, "Sor" kept running and running, not caring if she passed by her home. All she wanted was to get to a place where she could be alone.  
  
A small narrow alleyway that she finally stopped at would probably suffice.  
  
Sor leaned against the wall to catch her breath. While inhaling and exhaling heavily, her eyes were shielded, shrouded by shadow. But clear, salty liquid continued to roll down her face, consisting of sweat and tears. As the breaths finally slowed down, the girl fell to knees, forgetting the small bag of groceries that she just dropped.  
  
Her vocal chords went to work once more as she put her head and fists against the brick wall. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists even tighter, as she began to cry. No thoughts or words came forth to guide her brain to a logical conclusion about why she was feeling this way. For now...she was terribly alone.  
  
*********************  
  
"You'll never have to be alone anymore, Tai," Sora said to her date. She then focused her attention to her watch.  
  
"What's up?" Tai asked, noticing what Sora was doing.  
  
"Just checking the time, what else?"  
  
"Hmm, it IS getting kinda late, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, we should probably be getting back to Mimi's," Sora noted.  
  
Tai was a little surprised that Sora actually wanted to go home, but maybe she was just tired. Since their dinner reservations had already been paid for, all they had to do was leave. Tai pulled a little money out of his pocket and placed it onto the table as a tip. Then he picked up Sora's purse and began to hand it to her.  
  
"Hold on to it for a sec, Tai...I gotta use the ladies room. Be right back."  
  
Tai nodded as Sora walked away, and nearly jumped a foot in the air as he felt a hand firmly place itself on his shoulder.  
  
"WHOA!" he almost yelled, before hearing a small chuckle. "Wha-Matt?!?"  
  
"Ha, ha, ha!" Matt laughed. "Sorry, man...didn't mean to scare you like that. Just broke off from the music for a bit to see how you were doing."  
  
"Oh, well...Sora and I finished eating, so we were thinking of heading off."  
  
"That's not all...I saw you and Sora on the dance floor. You two were getting PRET-ty close by the end..."  
  
"Eh, heh, heh...yeah, yeah."  
  
"Hey, here she comes now," Matt noted, pointing behind Tai.  
  
"Yo, Matt!" Sora said. "What's going on?"  
  
"Just saying 'hello' and 'goodbye' to before you two go."  
  
"Speaking of going, Tai...we'd better-"  
  
Tai silently interrupted by nodding quickly, then handing Sora her purse, who half-smiled as she took it from him.  
  
"I still can't get used to this thing," Sora noted, inspecting her purse like an alien looking at something not from its planet.  
  
"Well, catch you later!" Tai said as he left with his date.  
  
Matt just smiled and waved. As he watched them exit the restaurant, he felt extremely confident that this new relationship between Sora and Tai would work.  
  
*********************  
  
In a nearby park, the audible sound that came close to bawling had ceased. But on a small bench, Sor continued to sniffle and let her tears flow down her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around her bunched up legs; the end result was that she had curled herself up in a ball.  
  
Sor could barely think. All she could do was...feel. Which was exactly what she DIDN'T want to experience. But something relating to curiosity started buzzing in her brain. Sure, it was clear now that she was starting to feel regrets about choosing Matt over Tai, whom she was really starting to miss, but there was something else, too. Something greater. But at the moment, it was a blurry thought shrouded in a mist too thick for her to punch through. Whatever thought was trying to make its way out, she just couldn't put her finger on it.  
  
Her thoughts became disrupted when she heard two voices headed her way. Normally, she wouldn't even take notice. But when she heard a young male conversing with a female voice that sounded an AWFUL lot like hers, her primary instinct told her to hide.  
  
Once Sor was certain that she was well hidden behind the bushes (which didn't take much effort, considering that it was night), her ears decided to go against her will and work their talents perfectly.  
  
"Tai, I've made a decision," Sora said as walked down the sidewalk with him.  
  
"Yeah?" he asked.  
  
"I wanna play soccer again."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Mm-hm. Soccer has always been a big part of my life, and it'd be a shame to let my talents go to waste."  
  
"Awesome!" Tai exclaimed happily. "I'll tell the coach tomorrow! He'll be pleased."  
  
"You SURE he won't mind having a girl on his team?" Sora asked suspiciously.  
  
"Positive," Tai reassured her.  
  
The two of them wanted to talk more, so they sat down, on a bench. Unbeknownst to either teen, the seat had been "pre-warmed" for them.  
  
"This'll be so fun, Sora! You and me out there makin' goals without even breaking a sweat!"  
  
"Yep, and with my help, your team'll be sure to win the title this year!"  
  
"Let's hope. Aw, Sora...you're just the coolest."  
  
"There, now was that so hard to admit?" she said, smirking.  
  
For the first time in a while, Tai flashed his typical wacky grin...something that NO one had seen in a while and something that Sora had longed to see ever since she got back from the Digital World.  
  
Both girls noticed this but the one behind the bushes could clearly see that the welcome return of this grin was meant for her double...and ONLY her.  
  
"Well, tell me something...was it so hard to admit THIS feels good!?!"  
  
Using barely any effort at all, Tai grabbed Sora around her waist and started tickling her like crazy!  
  
"AHH!" she almost screamed. "Nuh...n-no...eh, heh, heh...st-st- stop...please...ha, ha, ha, ha...please stop!"  
  
"Then admit it! I'm better than you at soccer!"  
  
"N...hee, hee...never!"  
  
"You're gonna have to say it sooner or later! Otherwise the tickling continues!"  
  
"Ha, ha, haaaa!!!! C...c...c-c'mon...eh, hee, hee, hee! Cut it out!"  
  
"Make me!"  
  
"Ah, ha, ha, ha! Okay, I give, I GIVE!!! You're better at soccer than me, happy?!?"  
  
Tai laughed as he let go of the girl whom he loved so dearly. It felt so good to be able to interact with her so naturally! This was definitely something he'd been missing!  
  
But he wanted so much not to be separated from her anymore, so he once again wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, but more slowly this time around. Sora started to slightly moan as Tai sprinkled light kisses on her right shoulder. She closed her eyes and sighed as the kisses gradually moved from her shoulder to her neck.  
  
So far, Tai hadn't kissed Sora anywhere but her lips, and wondered if maybe they were moving too fast. But his love wasn't showing any signs that she wanted him to stop, so he continued. After wrapping her arms around his neck, Tai felt her body jerk briefly and she gasped when his warm lips made contact with her skin, gently brushing her neck for the first time.  
  
Sora began to moan more as he began to lightly suck on her neck. Eyes still closed, she started to grin and giggle, as his neck sucking was seriously starting to tickle her again. Her peepers immediately fluttered open and she shifted her position on the bench so she could face him.  
  
"All right, Tai...you've had your fun..." Sora murmured like she wanted him to stop. But anyone could clearly see that she didn't really mean it.  
  
Back behind the bushes, Sor covered her head and ears with her hands, attempting to block out the little romantic scene that was playing itself out.  
  
The two teens finally rose from the bench and were on their way back to Mimi's apartment.  
  
As soon as she was sure that the pair was far away enough, Sor finally rose from the bushes and watched them with tear-stained eyes as they quickly crossed the street. The distressed girl did her best to wipe her eyes with her sleeve and ran as fast as she could back to her own home, now worried about whether or not she'd be able to hide her condition from her mother.  
  
*********************  
  
"Mm, the evening feels nice doesn't it?" Tai asked as they kept walking.  
  
"Uh, huh...it's so relaxing, that it-"  
  
*********************  
  
"HA, HA, HA, HA, HA..."  
  
*********************  
  
Without warning, Sora's body suddenly jerked and her head rose up. A chill began to ride up her spine, her face became nearly drained of all its color, and her eyes became glassy. A very small, but noticeable flash of light reflected off her pupils, and she suddenly exhaled as if she had held her breath.  
  
Tai felt her move while he had his arm around her, and locked eyes with her. But by the time he got a good look at her, her face had already returned to normal.  
  
"Sora...you okay?" he asked, with a worried look in his eyes.  
  
"Huh?" she went, acting as nothing happened.  
  
"I asked if you were okay."  
  
"Yeah, fine," she answered casually. "Why?"  
  
"Your body just sorta...jerked there for second..."  
  
"Did I? I-I mean...! Did it? I didn't notice anything..."  
  
*********************  
  
Mimi Tachikawa was in tears as she turned the page of the romance novel she was reading. She was spread out on the couch, damp tissues everywhere. A small container of half-eaten ice cream was in her lap, and an empty root beer bottle was on the floor.  
  
"Oh, wow...sniff..." Mimi went as she finished the current chapter as slowly closed the book. "...that's the most romantic thing I've ever read! It was absolutely wonderful!"  
  
And speaking of romance, little did she know that Tai and Sora were just closing in on her front door.  
  
"So I'll pick you up tomorrow just before practice, okay?" Tai asked.  
  
"No problem...I just hope your coach is as reasonable as you say he is," Sora said, albeit a little worried.  
  
"Hey, don't worry. If he won't be reasonable, then I'll MAKE him see the light!"  
  
Sora laughed, and so did Tai. They hugged once more, and exchanged one more kiss. The two of them said their good-byes and Sora and entered the apartment.  
  
"Hi, I'm back!" Sora hollered as she came in.  
  
"Oh, Sora!" Mimi stammered as she quickly put down the romance novel. She then gently brushed some of the tear-stained tissues off of the couch so that Sora could sit down.  
  
"Well..." Sora said carefully, "I see you've certainly been busy..."  
  
"Hey, reading these romance novels on a regular basis is tiring work," Mimi noted. "It tends to put quite a strain on a girl's heart!"  
  
Sora laughed a little, which caused Mimi's tears to abate somewhat faster.  
  
*********************  
  
Both girls were pretty tired that evening, so they decided not to argue over sleeping arrangements, and ended up sharing Mimi's bed.  
  
"So what happened after dinner?" asked Mimi who was sitting on the bed, writing some things in her date book.  
  
"Not too much," Sora hollered from the bathroom, while brushing her teeth. "We took a slow walk through the park and came back here."  
  
"That's it!?" Mimi went, in a somewhat dubious voice.  
  
"Hey, just what entitles you to every little detail that occurred on our date?"  
  
"Maybe 'cause I'M the one who set the whole thing up, while YOU kept worrying about it!"  
  
Sora took a second to laugh, and then drank some water to rinse her mouth out. She couldn't help but feel extremely cheerful, and good inside. Her mind took a moment to review the important things that had recently happened to her.  
  
She finally made it back to Earth, and within a few days she reunited with all her old Digidestined buddies, she began to reconcile with her mother, and she fulfilled her greatest desire to become more than "just friends" with her oldest, best friend. Not to mention that her first date with Tai went off without a hitch!  
  
There was so much happiness built up inside her heart, that she could barely resist the urge to jump up and down, and scream in utter delight! So she tried her hardest to remain calm and said-  
  
"I'll tell you the rest tomorrow okay, Mimi? Right now, I'm too tired to talk," Sora said, reaching for a towel to wipe her face.  
  
"Suit yourself, Sora! But you're gonna tell me sooner or later!"  
  
Back in the bedroom, Mimi turned to the nearby drawer in her bedstand and began to blush. In almost a timid fashion, she took out a very small photo from the nearby drawer in her bedstand, small enough to fit into the palm of her hand. It was a picture of her and Matt taken when they were about four years younger.  
  
In America, quite a lot of boys with good (and sometimes not-so-good) intentions asked her out on dates. Surprisingly, she accepted...but she never, ever went far with any those boys. It wasn't that all of her dates turned out to be creeps. On the contrary, a fair number of them were genuinely well meaning boys, who held a moderate amount of respect and dignity for her and simply just wanted to show her a good time.  
  
But despite their attempts to try to show her a good time, it just didn't work. Some sort of trait or feeling was missing from all of them; a certain something that couldn't be found anywhere else.  
  
That "certain something" could only be located in Matt Ishida. Mimi missed him so much, but it wasn't due to the fact that she lived in America, while he lived in Japan. Even when she came home every now and then to visit, she'd still be a million miles away from him. And it was all because of...HER. And there was no hope of fixing the situation now.  
  
Sora hastened her return to Mimi's room when she heard a sniffle. She quietly tiptoed back and peeked her head in her room. Mimi was on the bed, kneeling with her back to Sora, who could just barely see the photo that was in her hand.  
  
Mimi gasped when she felt a hand placed on shoulder.  
  
"Mimi?" Sora asked in low, worried voice. "What's wrong?"  
  
The longhaired turned her head, and Sora almost gasped when she saw her friend's face. Mimi's face looked exactly like Sora's when Tai pushed her away a couple days before. And it took no time at all for Sora to figure out that Mimi's problems weren't much different.  
  
It didn't take a whole lot of effort to gently pluck the small photo put of Mimi's hand. Sora held it up to her eye, and took a deep breath. By now, she pretty much knew WHAT was going on now...she just didn't know what to say, or how to go about this.  
  
But as Sora thought hard, she realized that although Mimi was usually a cheerful person...every now and then she seemed to be a little TOO cheerful and smiled a little TOO much. As if she was trying to maintain some front that everything was okay in her little corner.  
  
Come to think of it, Sora thought, some of those smiles of hers looked kinda...sad.  
  
Sora's eyes widened as she remembered something that Tai told her...  
  
*********************  
  
"So Matt's her boyfriend now?"  
  
"Uh huh," Tai nodded, without displaying much emotion on his face.  
  
"So that's why Matt hugged me so tightly when he saw me...!" Sora concluded.  
  
*********************  
  
Of course! Sora lightly slapped her fist into the palm of her other hand.  
  
I gotta be an idiot for not noticing this sooner, she thought. I...it's shocking...Mimi's in...LOVE...with Matt! And she can't have him...because...because of...  
  
Sora's state of mind was that of a semi-completed jigsaw puzzle, like when you have most of the pieces put together, but the newly created big pieces of the picture still haven't been combined yet.  
  
Mentally, she had the pieces, all that was needed was to put them together. Unfortunately, Mimi was going to contribute a lot to finish this emotional puzzle.  
  
"Mimi-" Sora said, not sure what to say next.  
  
"Yes, I love him," Mimi broke in, her face covered in cold sweat and tears. "And I can't stop loving him."  
  
Sora just stared at Mimi very hard for a long minute. This was a side of her that Sora had never seen. It was probably an extremely hidden side that no one had ever seen before. But one thing was for certain...Sora wasn't going to get anywhere if she couldn't coax Mimi into clarifying things.  
  
"Mimi...what's going on?"  
  
The younger girl took a deep breath, trying to convince herself that she could trust the girl next to her. And like a teapot...the answers came pouring out at a steady rate. Mimi did her best to contain her tears as she began to speak.  
  
"Four years ago, when we were all together, exploring the Digital World...we all had our own share of... personal problems. And it was too clear that Matt was having trouble caring for his little brother, T.K. That and the fact his family was...separated...and because of that I..."  
  
Mimi stopped, trying her hardest not to cry.  
  
"Go on," Sora said, gently patting Mimi's shoulder.  
  
"So...I felt real sorry for him...and I realized that I was being...selfish. I was whining so much about how my feet hurt, how my dress was getting dirty, and how my hair hadn't been brushed in a while."  
  
"And?"  
  
"I vowed then to...try to think about others for a change...so I focused my attention on Matt. And I came to admire how...UN-selfish he was, always keeping an eye on T.K. or someone else, almost never looking out for himself first."  
  
"And...that's when you started to...develop these really deep feelings for him, right?"  
  
Mimi looked at Sora, sniffled and wiped a few tears away.  
  
"Yeah, that's exactly it," she said quickly. "I wanted to tell him...but...I had to move away so soon..."  
  
"Uh, huh..."  
  
"Even when I visited...I still liked him...so I was gonna call him up and tell him...af-after...Christmas...but that's when it happened..."  
  
"What? What happened?" Sora asked, really worried now.  
  
"Sor...Sora called me up Christmas morning...to say hello. I was so happy then, since Palmon had come to visit me...and later that morning she called me...to tell me that she'd went out on her first date...with Matt."  
  
As Mimi spoke those last few words, her tone of voice got a little angry. It was a variety of anger that Sora had never seen in Mimi before, who then firmly punched the mattress that was under her.  
  
"I hated her for that!" she almost shouted, her tears starting up again. "SHE KNEW! She knew I liked Matt...but did she care?"  
  
Sora herself was almost in tears too, and grabbed Mimi, hugging her ever so tightly, as Mimi did for her.  
  
"That's enough, Mimi...you don't need to say anything else," she whispered.  
  
"I can't...I just can't stop caring about him..."  
  
"Look, maybe if you just talk to him...I mean, Matt...then I'm sure he'd-"  
  
"No...I promised myself I wouldn't get involved...and that I'd stay out of their relationship."  
  
"You mean, you'd never even...try to steal Matt away from her...?" Sora asked, half-joking.  
  
Mimi responded with a half-smile to match, but she was still crying and then shook her head.  
  
"I wouldn't...I'm not that kind of girl."  
  
And she was telling the truth. As much as Mimi loved Matt, she wouldn't even consider cheating with him, even if Matt liked her back. Romantic relationships are not only built upon love and care, but trust as well. Being the Digidestined of Sincerity, she would never, ever betray that trust Sora and Matt had developed between each other.  
  
"I...I sorry..." Sora apologized. "I shouldn't have made you tell me-"  
  
But once again, Mimi shook her head.  
  
"Sniff...it...it's okay..."  
  
"No! No, Mimi it's not okay!" Sora hissed. "I pushed and you gave in! And if my stupid sister had half a brain, she would have at least asked you how you felt about all this! How could she be so insensitive?!"  
  
Sora hugged Mimi even tighter than before. Not surprisingly, Mimi let it all out and cried for quite a while. Even after she had calmed down and went (or cried herself) to sleep, Sora lied down in bed next to her and stared at the ceiling. But her eyebrows narrowed towards each other as her brain created very unwelcome thoughts abut her sister.  
  
"I don't believe this!" she whispered into the dark emptiness of the bedroom. "How could my sister DO this to her friends!?"  
  
It's nearly astonishing how one person can affect the lives of so many others, even if that person weren't an action hero or political leader. Sora's romantic infatuation with Matt caused more emotional pain than meets the eye, and did more harm than good, as unfair as that might sound.  
  
Tai was in love with her, and even though he seemed to be on the road to recovery now, it was clear that his big heart was still scarred from the ordeal at Christmas. This resulted in angering Kari and made her sad about her brother's feelings, which in turn, made T.K. worry about Kari. And because he felt alienated from her, it caused him to keep his distance from Sora's double who then received (but didn't deserve) her share of pain, as well. Sora's parents became extremely confused over their daughter's choice in boys, and that weren't enough, now Mimi was also hurt. She too, bore a considerable amount of ill will towards Sora.  
  
Putting her hands under head, part of Sora's personality was telling her that she shouldn't dwell on this problem of Mimi's, especially since she was going to be trying out for the soccer team tomorrow. Still, from what Mimi told her, she just couldn't let things go so easily.  
  
"I still can't believe it! Since when does Sora Takenouchi hurt her friends without even considering the consequences, much less their feelings!? That snobby, selfish, conceited, little brat!"  
  
Sora almost shouted those words, but remembered that Mimi was (finally) fast asleep. She had her back turned to Sora, and was snoozing rather peacefully now. So it probably wasn't in anyone's interest to raise her voice right now. At the same time, it felt strange thinking this way, since Sora was also talking about herself, so to speak.  
  
If it wasn't one thing, it was another. Sora's parents now had two daughters, each with a problem. One daughter felt distant from then, and the other was almost willingly distancing herself from her most trusted friends.  
  
"Geez..." Sora muttered before finally going to sleep, and still thinking about her sister and herself. "...how in the world does Mom put up with us?"  
  
*********************  
  
"Thanks for coming over on such short notice, Ken," Izzy said as he and his friend walked into his room.  
  
Both boys sat down at the table and Ken pulled out of his pocket a thin transparent cable and hooked up the small laptop he was holding to Izzy's.  
  
"You have separate schematics and statistics on that old pyramid of Etemon's, correct? And an overlay of that section of the Digital World?"  
  
"Yep, sure do. What are we trying to do here?"  
  
"Well, we both have separate and different bits of information about that pyramid...so I thought that if we pooled out resources together, we might be able pinpoint the origin of that energy source I detected a while back."  
  
"Oh, I see."  
  
"But I'll admit...I'm not even really sure WHAT I'm looking for. It's a shot in the dark."  
  
"Well, sometimes...the best strategy is simply 'trial and error', Izzy. But enough chit-chat."  
  
Izzy nodded. "I agree. Let's get to work."  
  
*********************  
  
The first half of the next day wet by rather quickly. And around four o' clock (or maybe a little before, who really cares), Tai came to pick Sora up for her "audition". They exchanged multiple kisses before she noticed that Tai was in his soccer uniform. Pleasantly surprised, she mentally noted to herself that it had definitely been a while since she'd seen - much less wore - one of those.  
  
All the same, Tai invited Mimi to come along, but Sora explained that Mimi had a "prior engagement" to attend to.  
  
After Mimi's little emotional maelstrom last night there's no WAY I'm telling Tai about this, Sora thought.  
  
It didn't take very long for the pair to get to the soccer field, and practice was already underway. The coach was there, watching his team run a couple of laps, telling then to hustle.  
  
"Yo, coach!" Tai hollered to his coach. "Sorry I'm a little late!"  
  
The coach just shrugged.  
  
"No big deal, Kamiya...practiced only started about six minutes ago. Just go join the others," he said, pointing.  
  
"Wait, coach! Remember you said you'd be willing to try almost anything to beat the finalist team?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Well, I might have something up my sleeve that could very well beat the stuffing outta them!"  
  
"Then by all means, TELL me!" he said, rater excitedly.  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"You're my best player, Tai. I trust your judgement!"  
  
"Okay, then. May I present my best friend and one heckuva soccer player...Sora Takenouchi!"  
  
"Umm, I'm not quite sure what you're getting at."  
  
"I'm saying that she CAN help us win if we get to the finals!"  
  
Tai revealed his girlfriend to the coach, who eyed her carefully. Sora started to sweat a little.  
  
"Hmm...all right...Tai, link up with the others. I'll talk with your friend."  
  
"Gotcha, coach. Sora...best of luck!"  
  
Sora and Tai exchanged a quick kiss, and he ran off to meet the rest of his teammates.  
  
"Umm...Sora, was it? Let's sit for moment, and you can tell me a little about yourself."  
  
Sora nodded, and the two of then sat down on a nearby bench.  
  
"Well, Tai introduced me to soccer when I was very little. And he showed me some of the ropes as we got older, and I got pretty good at it. I love soccer. Of course, I understand if you don't wanna girl on your team."  
  
"Oh, no! Don't worry about that!" the coach quickly replied. "So many people think that coaches are usually picky about having girls play for them, but not me. I honestly believe in fair play!"  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Sure! Not only would it enhance the team's reputation if you joined us, but our opponents would be at a loss for words if they got beaten by-"  
  
"-a mere, weak woman?"  
  
"Exactly! Look, I have no problem whatsoever if you play for us, but..."  
  
"But what?"  
  
"Well, I can't just let you play without seeing whatcha got to offer! I'd like to see what you can really do out there for us! Seeing's believing, after all."  
  
"Hey, that's cool with me! When shall I perform for you?"  
  
"How about in a few minutes? No time like the present."  
  
"Sounds good to me."  
  
"Okay, then, it's settled!"  
  
The soccer coach made the team do a few more sets of exercises to warm them up, while Sora watched them closely, Tai more than the others. But she found that the more she observed them, the more she wanted to be a part of it.  
  
After they were done, the sweaty and semi-tired team were given a break, and the coach gathered the boys together to announce the possibility of a new teammate. He also had Sora at his side to properly introduce her.  
  
"Listen up, guys...this is Sora Takenouchi, a good friend of our star player, Tai. He says and thinks that she might be able to give us the edge we need to win the title this year, provided we make it to the finals."  
  
Sora, slightly nervous, looked at the entire team. Everyone looked at each other and nodded or shrugged. They either didn't mind that a girl was going to play for them, or they were too tired to argue.  
  
"But first I'd like to test out her abilities, and if she's as good as I've been told, then that soccer tournament title is as good as ours!"  
  
Wow...he really is a reasonable guy, Sora thought.  
  
The coach went on to explain that he needed a few volunteers to "spar" with her on the field. Tai was partially grateful that he wasn't chosen to do it.  
  
"Anything you want to add, Sora...before we begin?"  
  
"Yeah...just one thing, actually. Don't go easy on me, fellas."  
  
All of the boys just looked at each other, calmly and casually nodding in agreement. A few of them politely chuckled at her partially funny remark.  
  
The team and their coach watched intently as Sora walked onto the field. Three other team members would be against her, backed up by a goalie posted at the goal.  
  
"Ready, Sora?" the coach hollered from the sidelines.  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be!" she yelled back, with a confident smirk on her face.  
  
"All right, then...GO!!!"  
  
Sora nodded and looked down at the soccer ball at her feet. This was also something she hadn't seen in a while. Here goes nothing, she thought.  
  
"C'mon, Sora..." Tai whispered.  
  
Without any hesitation, Sora lightly kicked the ball in front of her, making sure not to kick it far enough that the three boys blocking her could intercept it.  
  
Even though they boys agreed not to hold back, they still underestimated her skills. Similar to her love for Tai, her great soccer skills were just busting to get out and let themselves known to the world. Ignorance was NOT an option.  
  
Sora wasn't exactly sure if she was extremely anxious to get back to playing soccer or if she was just running on pure adrenaline, but either way...she wasn't arguing.  
  
Tai's teammates did their best to block her way, but the moment Sora got (back) into the mood, it was practically hopeless. She dodged right, left, and twisted out of the way of her opponents' best moves.  
  
The team started going "whoa", "ooh", and "awesome"...all good signs, in Tai's opinion. He never doubted for a moment that Sora's performance was going to disappoint anyone. She was doing quite the opposite, actually.  
  
Sora nearly made them look like amateurs, but they were more impressed than worried or jealous of her skills. She then made her first goal, complete with utter satisfaction. The goalie barely saw it coming.  
  
Tai was somewhat surprised when the team cheered for her, right after she scored. But as he watched her easily making a second goal...he already knew that she was going to fit in just fine.  
  
*********************  
  
MORE TO COME... (I was getting sick of the typical "to be continued" bit...)  
  
Wow, people! I gotta say it's good to be back!!! I'm REALLY sorry about not updating this story! And all you people have been waiting SO patiently! Like it said in my bio, I'd love to draw comics someday, so I've been drawing a comic strip to submit to some merciful comic book company, so that's why I've been away! I promise I'll try to update more frequently from now on! Anyway in the next chapter, it's the day of the semi-final round of the big soccer tournament! Now that Sora's back playing soccer, can she and Tai win this heated round, or will they crumble under the pressure? Who will win? Find out next time! 


	11. Just Havin' A Ball

Mr. Disclaimer: Umm, let's see...when...I mean, IF I don't own Digimon, then...what's that mean again?  
  
Whose Liner: Lemme help. Can you say your name?  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
Second Chances For Sora - Chapter 11  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
"YES!" shouted Sora with ultimate glee. "Today's the big day!"  
  
The shorthaired girl was so excited that she barely noticed Mimi walking into the apartment, coming back from her morning jog. Since she still had her walkman on, she couldn't hear a thing that Sora was saying, but she definitely noticed Sora's exuberant gestures.  
  
"Hmm?" asked Mimi, as she pressed the "STOP" button on the walkman.  
  
"It's happening today! Doncha get it?"  
  
"What's happening today!?" asked Mimi, with some impatience in her voice.  
  
"Don't you remember? Tai's soccer team is competing in the semi-finals today! And I'm helping them!"  
  
"Oh right!" Mimi said, snapping her fingers. "I almost forgot!"  
  
Sora could barely stand still. It had been two days since Sora's little "initiation" (or should we say "test") to compete and play on Tai's soccer team. And from the coach's point of view, she passed with skyrocketing colors.  
  
Tai noted beforehand that it'd be tough to obtain the proper soccer gear, much less acquire a uniform for her in just two days...but he personally promised that he'd make it happen.  
  
That Tai...he's so sweet in his own way, Sora warmly thought. Though collecting gear and a uniform for her was important, it didn't matter as much to Sora. As long as she could be out there on the field, scoring goals with her boyfriend (and her numerous teammates), it didn't really matter (much) to her WHAT she'd be wearing.  
  
"So, Mimi...you gonna come watch the game with us today?"  
  
"Mm-hm!" Mimi said, giving thumbs up. "Wouldn't miss it for the world!"  
  
"Great! And Tai also told me that some of the others will be there, too!"  
  
"Sounds good!"  
  
*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK*  
  
"Oh, I'll get that," Sora said as she approached the door. Sure enough, Tai was there, in his soccer uniform.  
  
"Hey, So-MMMPH..."  
  
Tai literally became speechless as Sora grabbed him by the shirt and smushed her lips against his, causing him to almost drop what he was carrying. Thankfully, the kiss didn't last long, and Sora let go just as quickly as she grabbed him.  
  
"Well!" said a blushing Tai, now regaining his breath. "I guess it would be pretty stupid to ask if you're ready or not today!"  
  
Sora laughed enthusiastically, and then eyed the bag Tai was holding.  
  
"So what's in the bag?" she asked.  
  
"Everything you'll need for today!" Tai shot back.  
  
Sora looked into the paper bag, and inside were black soccer sneakers, shin guards, long white socks, and a pair of back shorts.  
  
"All right! Thanks, Tai!"  
  
"Hold on...there is ONE more thing you'll need."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"It was a bit rushed, but I think it came out fine."  
  
"Whaddya mean?"  
  
"This."  
  
Sora gasped as Tai revealed the item he had been concealing behind his back the whole time. It was a red soccer jersey, with the name "TAKENOUCHI" on the back in big, white letters. Under the name was a "2".  
  
"Hey! You got me my own soccer shirt!"  
  
"Yeah...you wouldn't be complete without it!"  
  
"I'll say!"  
  
"Well, suit up! The game starts in half an hour!"  
  
"No problem! Just gimme a sec!"  
  
Tai nodded, and Sora ran off to the bathroom to change.  
  
"Now Tai..." went Mimi, as she approached him sipping some juice, "I'm all for shopping sprees, but isn't all this stuff you got her going a LITTLE overboard? No offense, but you don't know if you'll win today."  
  
"Yeah, I know, I know. But even so...I really wanted to make sure that Sora could feel like she was part of the team again...even if it was for only ONE match."  
  
Mimi understood and nodded. About two minutes later, Sora came back out. While wearing a dress the previous night was tough, putting on a soccer uniform was proving to be a welcome change.  
  
The two teens smiled as Sora walked towards them all dressed up to play soccer.  
  
"So?! How do I look?" she asked, desperate for almost any answer.  
  
"Like you're ready to kick some serious butt!"  
  
Sora and Tai gave each other a high five and headed out to the soccer game, with Mimi cheerfully tagging along.  
  
*********************  
  
Tai's little sister, Kari, along with T.K., Davis, Yolei, Matt, and Joe were already there when the other three Digidestined arrived. Mimi didn't expect Matt to be there, nor did she know exactly how to act when she was around him, but Sora looked at her with an expression on her face that told her she'd be able to get by.  
  
"Hey, guys!" Tai happily exclaimed to the others. "What are you all doing here?"  
  
"What else?" Matt replied. "We all came to cheer you guys on!"  
  
"Yeah," Joe agreed. "I completed my exams last week, so I was available to come along and watch!"  
  
"Ever since Tai told me that Sora used to rule in soccer, I've always wanted to see her in action!" Davis said excitedly.  
  
"Hey!" Sora playfully yelled up to Davis. "USED TO? Present tense, please!"  
  
Everyone laughed before Kari spoke up.  
  
"And of course, there's no way that T.K. and I were gonna miss seeing you and Sora in action!" she said.  
  
T.K. just nodded in agreement and lightly kissed Kari in the cheek, making her giggle. Out of natural reflex, Davis usually would have glared at them (or something like that), but he was more interested in how this soccer game was going to play out.  
  
Meanwhile, Demiveemon, Patamon, Gatomon, and Poromon peeked out of their humans' backpacks, so they could also get a good look at the game, which was to commence in just a few minutes.  
  
Yolei stepped off the mid-level bleacher that the Digidestined were sitting on and slowly walked up to Sora, examining her face closely.  
  
"Hmmm..."  
  
"What, is there a zit on my face?!"  
  
"Huh?! Oh, no...it's just...I talked to Sora last night...and ever since I heard about her-I mean, YOU...well, let's just say I've been itching to meet you."  
  
"Riiight..." Sora said nervously.  
  
Gee...I wonder if EVERYBODY'S gonna say that whenever they meet me, Sora quickly thought.  
  
"Look, there'll be plenty of time to talk about this later, Yolei," Tai noted. "But, Sora...we gotta book. The game's gonna start in a few minutes, and the coach is calling us."  
  
Sora nodded. "Later, uh...WHOEVER you are."  
  
It took Yolei a moment to remember that THIS Sora had never met her before.  
  
"Weren't you listening a second ago when Tai said my name? The moniker 'Yolei' will suffice, I should think."  
  
"Uhh...if you say so...let's go, Tai."  
  
Yolei watched as Tai and Sora ran off together towards their team, then she headed back to join the others on the bleachers. But before she made it all the way there, she accidentally bumped into Matt.  
  
"Oof! Whoa, watch it, Matt!" she complained.  
  
"Sorry about that, Yolei..." he replied. "The others were getting hungry, so they all gave me some money to buy them food from the snack bar. Why don't you join me? I won't be able to carry all those snacks by myself."  
  
"Sure thing," Yolei cheerfully agreed.  
  
*********************  
  
"All right, so in short...just do your absolute best, guys-ah...I mean, PEOPLE..." the coach said, indicating Sora's presence.  
  
As he finished giving his team a pep talk, he looked at everyone on the team, especially Sora and Tai, truthfully hoping that Sora's performance would prove to be nothing short of something spectacular.  
  
Meanwhile, Matt and Yolei made it back to the bleachers just in time - a few seconds before the game started. While Matt handed out the sodas, popcorn, candy, and other snacks to the Digidestined, he accidentally brushed Mimi's soft hand, causing her to quickly gasp and blush.  
  
"Oops...sorry about that..." he said, casually laughing it off.  
  
"UH...I, uh..."  
  
Mimi was beyond the capacity to speak. When Matt's soft fingers stroked and tickled the back of her hand, she blushed and quickly turned her head away from him. As Mimi felt her cheeks go warm, she didn't need a mirror to know that her face was inadvertently doing an impressive impersonation of a cherry.  
  
In most cases of this kind, the boy would do the same, as well. Unfortunately this sad case had a matching sad truth...Matt did NOT feel the same way. This was not to say that he was heartless, cold, or uncaring.  
  
As beautiful or as graceful or as sincere as Mimi was, the fact remained that Sora has gotten to him first. Mimi miserably sighed, as this situation was just another symbol of something she was denied and something she just couldn't have, no matter what.  
  
And it was clear that Matt wasn't planing to end his relationship with Sora anytime soon.  
  
"Something wrong, Meems?" Matt asked, somewhat concerned. He noticed Mimi's sad expression and worried for a moment.  
  
"Oh, nothing," Mimi said sadly, almost whispering.  
  
Hmm, Matt thought. What's wrong with her?  
  
"Cmon, what's going on?" he asked, with a push in his voice.  
  
"I, uh...was...was, just, um...wondering why Sora wasn't here!" she stammered.  
  
"Oh...uh...well, I'm not too sure," Matt replied. "I tried calling her today...I wanted to tell her that Tai's soccer game was today, but she said she wasn't feeling well...or something."  
  
"Ah," Mimi said, wondering if something really was wrong between Sora and Matt.  
  
Hmm, I really should head over to Sora's place and check on her after the game, Matt thought to himself.  
  
"Hey, look!" T.K. yelled, pointing to the field, and interrupting the uncomfortable situation. "They're just about to start the game!"  
  
Everyone turned their heads as the coaches sent out a goalie and five soccer players (from both teams) onto the soccer field.  
  
Focusing mostly on Tai's team, the Digidestined saw that he was already on the field. Sora was benched for now, as the coach wanted to save her primarily in the event where things got really tough.  
  
Nevertheless, she was ecstatic and excited to be a part of this big event.  
  
"GO, TAI!!!" she happily yelled.  
  
Tai said nothing, but smiled confidently gave her a thumbs-up. Not surprisingly, he was given the centerfield position and walked into the center circle and stopped at the halfway line.  
  
A coin was flipped to decide whose team would kick off first, and Tai's team won the coin toss. Without hesitation, Tai gave the soccer ball a fierce kick, as he did so many times before in the past. But things were a bit different this time around.  
  
Even though he wasn't thinking about it, the joyous feeling that he and his best (female) buddy had crossed over the line from being friends to lovers was unconsciously fueling his performance today.  
  
Armed with renewed confidence, Tai swiftly scored a goal in less than ten seconds.  
  
The usual cheers came, but more from Sora and the handful of Digidestined who had come to watch the game.  
  
Then more goals were scored, not by just Tai, but by his other teammates as well, as the game progressed. Sora didn't mind too much that she was on the bench, but her desire to join in increased more and more.  
  
Although both teams had their own appropriate amount of potential skill in their ranks, the players against Tai's team still wanted to win as much as anybody. They appeared as determined as Tai was, matching his team blow for blow, but the emotional therapeutic effect of his new girlfriend still burned brightly in his heart.  
  
But even for extremely skilled professionals, they are - even if at their best - flawed. Everyone has his or her limits, even if that individual isn't trying to reach it. And as for Tai, he's no better than the next human being in this respect. Towards the end of the first half of the game-  
  
"OWWW!!!"  
  
That was the sound Tai made when an opposing defender accidentally hurt Tai, attempting to slide into the ball. First contact was made with the ball, although Tai still tripped and fell over, combined with the fact that Tai was inadvertently pulling some muscles.  
  
"Oh!" was the sound that Mimi, Davis, Yolei, Joe, T.K., Kari, Matt, and especially Sora made when they saw Tai fall.  
  
The referee called for a time-out and Tai was taken to the bench and his ankle was checked. Luckily, it wasn't sprained, yet the injury was bad enough to take Tai out of the game. His coach wasn't pleased, but an injury was an injury.  
  
"Erin...in!" said the coach to another player. Erin nodded and headed out to the field to replace Tai. Erin wasn't nearly as good as Tai, but he could still hold his own on the field. Nevertheless, the team saw that their star player had now been benched, and took this as a sign of weakness on their opponent's part. All that was left was to take advantage of the situation. But little did they know that Tai's team had recently acquired ANOTHER star player...  
  
Sora scooted over to where Tai was sitting on the bench, and softly asked if he was okay. Tai nodded, but then a light turned on his head, and he called for the coach.  
  
"Something wrong, Tai?" he asked.  
  
"Well, I was thinking...maybe Sora could bail me out."  
  
The coach briefly scratched the back of his head, and then nodded.  
  
"Makes sense. Sora...you've been benched long enough. During the second half of the game I want you out there!"  
  
"Yes, sir!" she cheerfully replied, giving a mock salute.  
  
The coach turned back to the team to encourage them to push themselves if they wanted to win. Sora turned back to Tai and gave him her water bottle to drink from.  
  
Tai didn't want to take her water, but his loving girlfriend insisted.  
  
Hmm, Tai thought. This reminds me of the night Kari came into my room and gave me something to drink...  
  
*********************  
  
Tai started to calm down, and took a sip from her glass of milk. He calmed down even more, as the milk felt cool and sweet as it flowed down his throat. He handed the glass back to Kari, but she pushed it back in his hand.  
  
"No, no. It's yours. You drink the whole thing, okay?"  
  
Tai didn't speak, but slowly nodded. Kari put on a pained smile as he continued to drink.  
  
*********************  
  
...but things were different then, Tai kept thinking as he looked at Sora who was still watching the game. To think I had lost hope on being happy...but as long as I have Sora on my side, there's nothing we can't do!  
  
"Something wrong, Tai?" Sora said cheerfully. Tai swore that he could practically feel the positive, exuberant amount of energy in her voice.  
  
"On, no...aside from my ankle, everything's fine..." he replied, slightly adjusting the ice pack on his leg.  
  
Tai also remembered that he had used a similar line plenty of times on Kari and many others, but this time around...he really meant it.  
  
"I was just thinking that...well, until I met you recently, I was always down, and felt like all the passion, love and life had been sucked out of me. But now..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Well..." Tai said as he leaned closer to his girlfriend's face, hoping to end this conversation with a kiss, "...now that I have you around to support me...how can I ever be sad?"  
  
"Tai..." Sora said as she leaned closer.  
  
"Yeah?" he said, starting to close his eyes.  
  
"...do you REALLY hafta get all mushy during an important soccer game like this?!" she playfully shouted.  
  
"Huh?!"  
  
"I oughta pound you for that!"  
  
Without warning, Sora whipped around behind Tai, put him in a headlock, and gave him noogies that REALLY hurt. In his entire life, Sora was the only person who could ever match him in giving painful noogies.  
  
"OW, OW, OW, OW, OW!!!" he cried. "Stop! Stop it!"  
  
Even thought it hurt Tai, both of them were laughing. From the bleachers, Kari tore her eyes off the game and switched her line of vision to the happiest couple on the planet, the best friends that could ever have existed.  
  
She smiled warmly and a small tear of joy escaped her eye, as she began realizing that her big brother...had finally "come home".  
  
"That's the way, Sora..." Kari whispered as she watched them laughing. "That's how my brother needs to be. He's happy now, like the rest of us. And as long as you're there...he doesn't need anything else."  
  
Half time came and went. Sora saw glanced at the scoreboard, which displayed that her and Tai's team was down by two goals. But Sora was sure that this score situation could be easily fixed.  
  
Tai wished Sora good luck as it was now her turn to play. And not only was she going to play her hardest, but she also was determined to help her teammates retake control of the game.  
  
Needless to say, Sora's opponents were slightly taken aback by seeing a girl fight for the other team.  
  
Jeez, she thought. They're acting like they never saw a girl before...though that WOULD explain a few things...  
  
Not surprisingly, most of the opponents laughed when they saw Sora. But she wasn't offended at all, especially since she (and Tai, her coach, and her new soccer teammates) knew full well what she was truly capable of when it came to playing soccer.  
  
Sora took the same position Tai had when the game started, the centerfield position, and stared into her opponent's eyes with unnerving and impenetrable confidence.  
  
"What's this?" asked the boasting opponent, holding the same position as Sora on the opposite side of the field.  
  
"I think it's a girl," noted one of his half-witted teammates. Some of his other teammates laughed.  
  
"I know that!" he nearly yelled. "I wanna know what she's doing here!"  
  
"Well if you're that desperate to know..." Sora said firmly, "...I'm here to play!"  
  
"Yeah, right! You wish, girly! Don't worry...we'll try to go easy on ya!"  
  
"How sweet!" Sora replied in the cutest tone she could give. "Tell you what..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"So will I!" she announced.  
  
"Huh?!"  
  
Before he could fully comprehend what Sora had said, she was already way ahead of them, dodging and maneuvering past all of the other players with ease, not to mention a (more than) fair amount of style.  
  
The goalie hadn't seen that a girl had come to replace Tai in this game, so it came as no surprise that he was quite shocked to see that a girl was about to pummel a soccer ball into the goal behind him. He was so amazed that a girl was even participating in this game, that he almost forgot to try to block her kick.  
  
Unfortunately, it was too little, too late, as the ball came into contact with the net. Sora's team cheered and gave her numerous compliments, and pats on the back.  
  
Tai smiled as he watched Sora's performance with pleasure. He had forgotten how good Sora really was. But this was something really new to the other team. The prime fact that a girl was playing against them turned out to be more than enough to put their playing techniques out of focus. Well, that and the other fact that she was playing noticeably better than they were.  
  
Aside from the people who knew, everyone else had not seen this coming. This girl had a certain something regarding soccer...a special quality that had only previously been noticed in Tai. The coach was also pleasantly surprised to see that Sora was a true team player, and not a ball hog. She often passed the ball to others, and gave her other teammates each a chance to shoot.  
  
Before anyone knew it, the game was over and Sora had done her job all too well in keeping her team's score ahead of the others. Tai, his coach, teammates, and the Digidestined sitting in the bleachers cheered for her and congratulated her warmly for helping get the team to the finals. Even though he was benched for the second half of the game, the team was grateful that Tai found someone extremely skilled to assist them.  
  
After the game, Sora got an idea and took Tai aside while the coach handed out some refreshments to the team.  
  
"You did great out there, Sora."  
  
At first, Sora said nothing, and then "mmmmm-ed" as she passionately locked her lips with Tai's, and wrapped her arms around him.  
  
"Thanks," she whispered, as her lips let go. "Listen...what say you and I go get a bite to eat in a little while?"  
  
"Sure," Tai happily agreed. "Where, the Pizza Palace?"  
  
"Umm, actually..." Sora went, as the wheels in her head turned, "...I had someplace else in mind."  
  
*********************  
  
"You sure she's coming?" asked a somewhat high-pitched voice.  
  
Tai looked down at his yellow-skinned dinosaur-like digimon partner.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure. Sora never breaks a promise!" Tai replied to his little friend.  
  
Well, I gotta give Sora credit for coming back here for a picnic. After being trapped in the Digital World for four years...I woulda thought she'd had strong reservations about spending more of her free time here.  
  
"Hey, you two!" yelled a voice from far away.  
  
Tai and his digimon friend Augumon looked across the field they were standing in to see Sora and a pink bird-like digimon running towards them.  
  
"Whoa!" exclaimed Augumon, "Look, Tai! It's Sora and Biyomon!"  
  
"Yo, Tai!" she said, as she gave her best friend an enthusiastic high-five.  
  
"Hey how'd you get here? I thought your digivice was broken."  
  
"It was, but Mimi and I headed over to Izzy's place after the game. He gave it back, saying he had already fixed it."  
  
"Oh, I understand now. Whatcha got there?" Tai asked, noticing a picnic basket in Sora's hand.  
  
"Lunch."  
  
"LUNCH?!" went Augumon, with a familiar hunger in his voice.  
  
Tai laughed, but then he could feel HIS stomach growl, too.  
  
"Where'd you get that food, Sora?"  
  
"During my time in this world, I worked to earn money at a restaurant owned by this digimon called Digitamamon. He was so pleased with how hard I worked, that...well, let's just say that he owed me a favor or two."  
  
"Sora?" asked Biyomon.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Who's this human?"  
  
"Biyomon, doncha remember us? It's Tai and Augumon!" Tai said, surprised that Biyomon didn't recognize them.  
  
Biyomon shook her head.  
  
"Um, lemme explain...Tai," said Sora. "This ISN'T the same Biyomon that you remember."  
  
"Oh? How so?"  
  
"Well for a long time, I went traveling in the Digital World, after I discovered I was stranded here. My travels took me to the Primary Village...y'know, where all digimon are born and raised?"  
  
Tai nodded.  
  
"Well, when I arrived there, it occurred to me that I'd been separated from Biyomon for a while, and I really missed her. And before I knew it, POOF! Another egg hatched, and there she was. Like magic, she immediately grew attached to me, and after a few days of tender loving care, she digivolved into Yokomon."  
  
"And later...she digivolved into Biyomon, right?"  
  
"Exactly. And she traveled with me for the rest of the time I was here."  
  
"But I thought Biyomon wasn't there when Izzy and the others found you."  
  
"Unfortunately, during our travels, she and I got separated. So I told her beforehand that if we ever split up, then she should make her way back to the Primary Village, and wait for me."  
  
"And you just left to get her now so she could join us for our picnic?" Augumon asked.  
  
"Mm-hm!" Sora exclaimed. But then, she turned her head to Biyomon, who was floating in mid-air.  
  
"Something wrong, Sora?"  
  
"It's just...I was spending so much time in the real world, I almost forgot about you, Biyo. I'm...really sorry," Sora said sadly, hanging her head in partial shame.  
  
"It's okay, Sora. I'm just happy that you finally came back for me. But I have a question."  
  
"Shoot."  
  
"Is this human your friend?"  
  
"Yep! Actually, he's my BEST friend in the whole, wide, world."  
  
"But...I thought that I was your best friend...aren't I?" asked Biyomon, in her usual naïve voice.  
  
"Um...er..." Sora scratched her head, wondering how to explain.  
  
"Does that mean...I'm not your best friend anymore?" the digimon asked, almost sounding like it was going to cry.  
  
Sora's eyes softened, causing her to sigh and smile. She always loved and appreciated this part of Biyomon's nature. It was so cute.  
  
"Oh, Biyomon...of course not," she said, sighing again placing the bird in her arms. " You're BOTH my best friends...and that means I love BOTH of you equally!"  
  
Tai sniffed. "C'mon, Sora...stop gettin' all mushy. It's too much!"  
  
Everyone laughed except for Augumon, who had a question of his own.  
  
"Hey! What about me?" asked Augumon, cheerfully.  
  
"Of course..." Sora replied, playfully rolling her eyes. "We ALL know that you're totally awesome, as well Augumon!"  
  
The little digimon closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Well...just so long as you all know that."  
  
Everyone laughed again, and lunch was indeed served. Fruit, sandwiches, soda pop, and everything else in that picnic basket proved to be very filling. Afterwards, Augumon and (the "second") Biyomon went and played with a (soccer) ball Tai brought, while the two teens lied against a tree, leaning against each other.  
  
Tai and Sora had a great time, overall. The two of them snuggled, hugged and softly kissed each other. After they rested for a while, they joined in kicking the soccer ball around. Then they took turns seeing how easy (or difficult) it was to kick a soccer ball past a fast, flying Biyomon. Tai, Augumon, and Sora were all pleasantly surprised to discover that Biyomon was a natural at blocking most of their attempts at getting the ball past her.  
  
The sun began to drop sooner than expected, but then again, it WAS late afternoon. Tai said goodbye to Augumon and Biyomon, and prepared to go back home.  
  
"Ready to go, Sora?" Tai asked.  
  
"Yeah, sur-"  
  
*********************  
  
"HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH..."  
  
*********************  
  
Almost as if some remote control was activated on her, Sora froze up and didn't move for a few seconds. Her face lost all traces of emotion, and her eyes became glassy for a split second. But as Tai put his hand on her shoulder, everything passed.  
  
"Sora...are you all right?!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I said are y-"  
  
"I heard what you said! I'm cool. I just sorta...got lost in thought for a second."  
  
"Um, o-okay. Anyway, let's get moving."  
  
"Hey, er...uh...you go on through that digital portal without me! I'll catch up with you, promise!"  
  
"Why, what's going on?"  
  
"Umm...I just gotta take care of something...really! Just get going! I'll be right behind you!"  
  
"Well...okay. If you say so."  
  
Tai sighed, wishing he knew whether or not Sora was having some sort of mental problem. But he obeyed and walked off into the distance.  
  
*********************  
  
In the real world, the boy known as Izzy Izumi had worked almost endlessly on tracking down that rogue energy signal. It wasn't that this whole ordeal had some sort of hypnotic effect on him, but it WAS a formidable challenge for him, and he really wanted to keep at it and solve this conundrum. Izzy worked as hard as he could until fatigue won out.  
  
His head was resting in his crossed arms, for he had fallen asleep at his desk in front of his laptop. On the screen of the laptop was a schematic for Etemon's old pyramid fortress. Nothing suspicious was to be seen on the schematic, but had Izzy been awake a few minutes ago, he would have seen that something consisting of intense power seem to have had briefly appeared...  
  
********************  
  
Back in the Digital World, minutes beforehand...  
  
Once again, far in the desert, inside the bizarre pyramid that once belonged to Etemon...more sounds emitted from within the complex.  
  
Only this time...voices could be heard.  
  
"So...everything is in place?" asked a voice, from something that couldn't be seen.  
  
"Yes," replied a figure, standing in the shadows.  
  
"Good...then once the job is done, I'll get everything that I want."  
  
"Indeed."  
  
"Are you absolutely sure that you can handle the task I've given you?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
Even though the first voice's source could not be seen, an evil smile could have been felt through the atmosphere. And for the next few seconds...the malevolent chuckle of the second voice - a female - could be heard throughout the pyramid.  
  
"Then, by all means...please proceed...Sora."  
  
The figure stepped out of the shadows to revels itself in the form of a young girl, with short auburn colored hair and crimson eyes.  
  
"Thank you," said Sora with almost more than an unbelievable amount of confidence in her voice.  
  
"You are currently my best - and only - asset on my road to victory. Do NOT fail me."  
  
"Don't worry..." she said with a malicious and devious expression fixed on her face, "...after all, how could Tai ever resist me?"  
  
*********************  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
Well, finished yet ANOTHER chapter! I apologize for the update waiting, but I worked hard on this chapter! I hope you readers will start speculating on what will happen next! I know it's been SOOO long since I posted a new chapter, but I've just been real busy with other work. So anyway, hope you liked this new chapter, and I'll see ya next time!  
  
P.S. To anybody who likes Yu-Gi-Oh!, I've started playing Duel Monsters and I'm really getting into it! Is there anybody who's willing to trade a Black Skull Dragon or Gaia the Dragon Champion? Just thought I'd ask! Later!  
  
P.P.S. One more thing...if any of you DO play (or watch the show), I'd like your opinion on what your favorite monster is! No, I'm not taking a poll or anything, I just wanna learn a little more about you fans! Thanks again for reading! 


	12. Double Date Distress

Hello to all! This one is called Kenshin Himura...however I'm sure that some of you unfortunately know me as "Hitokiri Battosai", the "man-slayer." For now, I'll be filling in for the author called Whose Liner and his assistant Mr. Disclaimer. They're both much too busy writing up more of this fanfic, that they are. This one has never attempted narrating a disclaimer before, but I shall do my best...ahem...I do not own Digimon, that I don't. Oro! Hmm...that seemed quite easy, that it did...

* * *

PREVIOUSLY...

Life for the Digidestined has certainly been anything but boring. But they would soon realize that their newest situation would definitely take the cake. The "main brain" of the group, Izzy Izumi, tracked an enigmatic source of energy in the Digital World. Him and the other Digidestined found that it originated from another digivice, which in turn, belonged to a double of Sora Takenouchi, one of their own. It wasn't easy reintroducing her into the real world, but she soon thereafter managed to really make something of herself. She was reunited with her old Digidestined buddies, she struck up a long-awaited (and "delayed") blossoming romantic relationship with her best friend Tai Kamiya, things started to patch up between her parents, and if that weren't enough, she joined Tai's soccer team, whom she helped to win their semi-final round. But things aren't over. Another rouge energy source has been spotted, and Izzy is hot on its trail...

--------------------------------------------

Second Chances For Sora - Chapter 12

--------------------------------------------

The segment of the apartment building that belonged to Sora Takenouchi and her parents was almost as empty as a dry well. Except for one person.

"Sora?" yelled another voice that entered the rooms.

(Actually, make that two.)

Matt Ishida ran his hand through his blonde hair and sighed at the disappointment of finding no one. But his ears picked up some sniffling sounds coming from one of the bedrooms.

Cautiously opening the door, he peaked in and saw his girlfriend sitting at her desk, sniffling and making additional (and rather unpleasant) sounds. Matt sighed again as he saw her burying her face in her hands.

Sora didn't even jump when Matt put his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey..."

"M-Matt?" she said, sniffing again.

"What's going on? How come you weren't watching the soccer game yesterday?"

"I just couldn't...not with THEM there..."

"Who?"

"Tai and...**her**."

"Oh," Matt said in his softest voice, nodding.

"Matt, I'm losing Tai."

"Huh?"

"Ever since my 'twin' appeared, she been everything that I haven't been..."

"And what's that?"

"A good...BEST friend...to Tai...and everyone else."

"What?!"

"When you and I hooked up...I was really happy. But I was so...blinded...by my newfound feelings for you, that I pushed almost everyone away...even Tai. And now...now I MISS him! I **really** miss having my best friend around!"

"I'm sure he felt the same way when you and I started dating."

"Then I'm also sure that I'm experiencing what he felt."

"And how does it feel?"

"It feels terrible," she said, almost whispering. "What should I do?"

"Sora...the best thing to do right now, would be to apologize to him. That would definitely be the first step towards feeling better."

"I don't know...he's already got a NEW best friend..."

"You don't believe that any more than I do," Matt said confidently. "You're the most important thing to him. Tai would **never** forget about you."

"I'm so confused. Matt...just...please...hold me for now."

Sora got out of her chair and slumped to her knees near her bed, ready to cry a little bit more. Matt kneeled beside her and held her in his arms.

He then apologized for not making more time for them to spend together. Kissing the top of her head, he assured her that everything would work out.

* * *

"Sunny, this'll NEVER work out! HOW am I gonna explain all of this to Eggman??? Now put my eyes back onto my face before I get REALLY mad!"

Tai and T.K. laughed hysterically at the television until they thought their heads would burst into flames. Kari walked in through the door just in time to hear them.

The Kamiya daughter had been out running some errands, and set her small bag of groceries down. Although the laughing of the two boys was growing increasingly annoying, she was still glad that Tai was really starting and now continuing to feel better. It had seemed like lifetimes since she heard her brother laugh so hard and loud. She smiled lovingly at both males whom she loved a lot.

T.K. saw Kari, however, and greeted her first.

"Hey, Kari!" he said giving her a small kiss on the cheek.

Kari giggled and gave T.K. and her brother a big hug. Then she switched her attention to the television. She quickly grabbed the remote and pressed the "MUTE" button.

"HEY!" the two boys yelled.

"Tai, are you still into that weirdo show!?!" Kari asked.

"Hey, 'Tokyo Pig' is nothing to sneeze at!" Tai argued.

"Yeah, that show really knows how to bring on the unexpected!" T.K. added.

"Whatever," Kari said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, bro...I need to talk with T.K."

"Talk about what, Kari?" T.K. asked.

"Our **plans** for tonight, remember?"

"OH! Right!"

Tai chuckled as Kari dragged T.K. over to the dinner table so they could talk privately about their upcoming date.

While the two of them chatted, Tai turned the television's volume back on, and continued to watch his program.

"So, how about it, T.K.? Does a date at the 'Mega-Mania Arcade' sound good to you?" Kari asked after a few minutes of debating where to go for the evening.

"Hey, you don't see me complaining!" T.K. cheerfully replied. But his attention switched when he saw Tai laugh at the television.

"Umm, Kari...? I think I missed a REALLY funny part..." T.K. said in an unmistakable begging voice.

Kari sighed, and then immediately giggled in the cutest fashion.

"You really wanna watch that show, doncha?" she asked with a half-smile.

T.K. clasped his hands together, grinned and nodded like an idiot.

Kari continued to smile and nodded, too. "Okay, man-o'-mine...go ahead."

"Yes!" T.K. happily hissed and lightly (but firmly) cupped Kari's face and passionately kissed her soft, pink lips. Then he raced over to where Tai was and jumped over the back of the couch to land next to him.

Kari looked at the clock, and saw that the television show was only half over, so she knew then and there that she would have to find someway to amuse herself for the next fifteen minutes or so.

But before she could get down to "business", the doorbell rang. Eager for something to do, (as trivial as answering the door is) she nearly raced to their apartment entrance, since it was clear that T.K. and/or Tai weren't about to do it themselves.

Kari unlocked the door and opened it to be greeted with the sight of-

"Sora! Hey, what are you doing here?" Kari exclaimed, semi-cheerfully.

"What else?! I came to do only the most important thing on this planet! Hug and hold that hunk of a brother of yours!" Sora said, readily rubbing her hands together.

"Gotcha...come on in!" Kari laughed, further opening the door to let Sora in.

"Sooo...where are you hiding that brave, buff boyfriend of mine?!" she asked impatiently.

Kari said nothing, but smiled as she pointed towards the couch.

Both girls walked over to the couch, and gently wrapped their arms around their boyfriends' necks. Kari continued to be silent, but dragged T.K. off the couch and into her room, to let Sora and her brother be alone for a few minutes.

Tai was glad to see that Sora was present, but protested when she grabbed the remote control and the television's sound went out again.

"Hey! What didja do THAT for?!"

Sora laughed as she leaned against the back of the couch and briefly stared at the TV screen.

"I think it would be more appropriate to ask about what the heck you're watching?"

"Oh...it's a kiddy cartoon called 'Tokyo Pig'...about this little kid named Spencer and his pet pig, Sunny..."

"Uh, huh...and?"

"Well, the real kicker is that Sunny had all these cool powers and he usually uses them to get Spencer into trouble without even trying!"

Tai grabbed the remote from Sora's hand and turned the sound back on.

"-the last time, Lizzie...GIVE ME MY HOMEWORK BACK!!!"

"Yah, right! I'm much more educational than your dumb 'ol homework!"

Tai laughed, and Sora just rolled her eyes.

"Who's that annoying little brat?!" Sora asked, pointing at the screen.

"That's Dizzie Lizzie, Spencer's little sister," Tai answered. "She's a handful, but really funny."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Mm-hm...and she's sorta cute in her own way."

"More cute than **moi?**"

"Well...I wouldn't go THAT far..." Tai nervously answered.

"Good boy!" Sora mockingly said, putting her hand on Tai's head and messing up his hair (if that's possible).

Once again, Sora took the remote from Tai, but THIS time she used it to turn the TV off.

"SORA?" Tai asked, raising his voice and turning to face his girlfriend.

But the only response he got was a swift helping of lips pressed against his. As Sora pulled away Tai hastily asked her why she turned the TV off.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Tai..." Sora said, getting onto the couch and pinning her boyfriend down, "...did you want to kiss the TV instead?"

"No, but I really wanted to finish watching it!" Tai insisted.

"In that case, whaddya say to a little wager, buddy?"

"What kinda wager?"

"If you can wrestle this here remote control outta my hands, I'll let you finish watching your show."

"Uh...I don't think so! **No** way!"

"Hey, I don't see what the big deal is! Besides, we used to wrestle all the time when we were kids."

"Yeah, when we were **kids**..."

"Look, it's your choice, pal. Do you wanna finish watching or not?"

Tai groaned and rubbed his forehead before responding.

"Forget it, Sora...I'm not gonna wrestle my girlfriend-" Tai said, partially at a loss for words.

"Aw, whassa matter?" Sora said, in a teasing voice. "Too afraid to take on your girl for a teeny-weenie TV remote control?"

Tai was fully aware that Sora wasn't trying to be mean...she was just acting like herself. She was being playful, in her own way. But he also knew that she was dead serious about the wrestling thing.

And Tai **did** want to see how his show would conclude.

He immediately acted without thinking as he hungrily lunged for the remote in Sora's hand.

* * *

"Well...that sounds fun, too!" T.K. said.

"Wait a minute, I got a great idea!" Kari said, raising her index finger. "Why don't we invite Sora and my brother to tag along?"

"Hey, yeah! Sorta like a double date!"

"Sounds good, right?"

"Of course! Let's invite them right now!"

T.K. chuckled as he grabbed Kari's face and kissed her. The two of them held hands as they walked out of her bedroom. Entering the living room, they couldn't see their two friends, but heard strange sounds coming from the living room couch.

"Uh...Tai?" Kari said, raising her voice a little.

For a moment, she heard nothing but groans, soon followed by a burst of exhaled breaths.

"K...K...Kari?" Tai said out of breath, peeking his head over the couch.

T.K. looked a little worried for a moment as Tai's face was covered in sweat and he was breathing quite heavily.

"Hiiii..." said a female voice, which sounded equally fatigued.

T.K.'s eyes widened as he saw Sora rise up behind Tai, holding him firmly in a headlock and lightly punching him in the side.

Kari was very confused until she saw the TV remote in one of Sora's hands.

"T.K.! K-Kari! Good...good to see ya!" Tai exclaimed, trying in vain, to free himself of his girlfriend's grasp.

"Should, uh...should we come back...later?" T.K. hesitantly asked.

"No...no! Not at all!" Tai said, in a still-out-of-breath voice.

"Yeah...he...he needed a br...breather, anyway!" Sora added between puffs and wheezes.

"Tai...**please** tell me that you weren't trying to wrestle Sora for control over the remote," Kari said, as she crossed her arms with a half-smile. "You **know** she kicks your butt everytime."

Sora and Tai stared at each other before realizing how foolish they were being. Sora was the first to respond to that little revelation.

"Truce?"

"Truce."

Tai was finally released from his tight headlock, and his sister heard a loud "thump" as he hit the floor, inhaling large quantities of much needed oxygen.

The two younger kids laughed, and informed the two older teens of their invitation to join them on their date. Naturally, Sora and Tai could hardly pass up the chance to have some fun (in one way or another).

"But what about money?" Tai asked.

"Oh, no worries there," T.K. promptly answered. "Kari and I convinced our parents to pay for everything. And I'm sure they'll throw in a little extra for you two, as well."

"Yeah, and I still have some leftover money that Mimi lent me," Sora added.

"Cool, sounds great!" Tai said happily.

Kari still couldn't get used to how cheerful her big brother was now, not that she was complaining. It had been too long since she had seen his brother like this, happy AND content. Maybe it was Sora. Maybe Tai's friend was the key to keeping him happy. After all, Tai and Sora had known each other all their lives. And maybe Sora would also remain happy as long as she was with Tai, no matter what the circumstances.

The four kids continued their conversation at the kitchen table, while Kari got some drinks for everyone.

"So when do we head out?" Tai asked.

"Uh...we were thinking about seven or so?" T.K. suggested, then turning the girl sitting next to him, "Does that fit with your schedule, Sora?"

"WHAT schedule? I'm not going to school right now," Sora said, rolling her eyes.

Tai and T.K. chuckled a little.

"Right, right..." T.K. said. "Sorry, I forgot."

It would roughly be about three hours before the four friends headed out, so they spent their time chatting, and playing games both of the video and board variety. Though three hours could be considered by some as an eternity, time flew for all of them and Mrs. Kamiya was home in time to drive them all to the Mega-Mania Arcade.

But unfortunately, Kari forgot a couple things to pick up when she went to the nearby grocery store, and Mrs. Kamiya simply HAD to point it out. However, Tai volunteered to do it. Sora offered (and nearly insisted) to come with him, but Tai said he could do it alone and quickly.

Tai ran a little down the block from his apartment building, enjoying the nice, cool, late afternoon air, while his thoughts ran around almost as fast as he was.

_Not that I'm getting sick of Sora...but if she came along, she'd NEVER keep her hands off me...and after that recent ugly session with the remote control, I NEED some air._

The teenager laughed a little to himself, but then he stopped to think again. Something in his head clicked, and it presented itself in a partially identifiable form, like someone walking through a cloud of mist. Though Tai wasn't always the best at catching on quickly sometimes, this one moment would be an exception.

Sora Takenouchi.

Not the tomboyish, funny, headstrong, wacky, soccer-playing, childhood (and BEST) friend of his that he had opened his heart to. His mind was referring to the feminine, serious, disciplined, realistic, tennis-playing friend who broke his big heart in two.

Now that he thought about it, he really hadn't seen her in a while since that nasty little episode when his sister slapped her. But now it seemed that-

**GASP!**

Tai stop moving when he saw the person in front of him, who had gasped.

"S...Sora?" he said.

Speak of the devil.

"Tai?'

One thing was true about THIS Sora...she definitely looked more feminine, compared to the girl who was hanging out back at his place. Tai eyed Sora closely. She was wearing black shoes, a short maroon skirt, pale purple shirt, and a short, light blue coat over it. Not to mention she had also applied a little makeup on her already pretty face. Tai then just barely noticed the small white spherical-shaped earrings in her pierced ears.

_Funny...I recall Sora saying something about her hating makeup and jewelry when we were younger...so much for that._

"Hey, Tai..." she started to say. One of Tai's eyebrows raised when he saw her cheeks turn a little red.

"Something wrong, Sor?" he plainly asked.

"Umm...listen, can we go somewhere to talk?"

"Ooh! Sorry...bad timing. I came to the store to make a quick stop for some stuff that Kari forgot to pick up. And afterwards, I'm heading home, 'cause I'm going out again with So...uh, some friends."

Though Sor didn't figure out that Tai was talking about her twin, she was still disappointed. Sor herself was actually going to out for the evening with some of her female friends from school but a part her desperately wanted to be with Tai. She needed to talk with him and reassert their relationship to see where they stood, and more importantly...whether or not she was still his friend.

Granted, after all the things the two had endured, there's was little need to even THINK about being replaced (as Tai would never have it that way), but previous circumstances had proved to be emotionally disastrous lately, and Sor had started to slowly lose hope.

"Well, then again...I got a few seconds to chat now. Why don't you talk while I shop?" Tai asked, pointing to the convenient store with his thumb.

Sor nodded, and the two of them entered together. As she looked at Tai, she noticed that he looked healthier, emotionally speaking. If his nightmares and inner depression still existed anywhere inside his heart, it was slowly dying. That made Sor a little happier, now that she knew that his pain was HER fault.

Tai picked up a small plastic basket and began walking up and down various aisles, searching for the condiments that his mother instructed him to buy.

"So what's on your mind?" Tai asked.

His friend hesitated, not sure of what to say. Sor knew how she felt inside, but she just couldn't put it into words at this moment. Still, she had to try.

"Um, how are things going?"

"Huh?"

"You know, between you and…m-my sister?"

"Heh, you need to **ask?!** COULDN'T be better," he said with a big smile. "And what about you and Matt?"

"Oh, uh...things are a little shaky right now, but...that's my fault. He promised to take me out tomorrow night, I think."

"Cool," he said, shrugging.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Sora asked, almost timidly.

"Of course," Tai said, with a voice chock full of positively charged energy.

"Um...how, uh...how do you feel about her?"

"Who's **her?**"

"You **know** who...my twin."

Had Tai been paying a little more attention to the situation, he would've heard the full amount of emotion in her voice. Instead, he said-

"Whaddya mean?"

"Well, it's just that I heard from the others that you two got together...any truth to that?"

Tai shrugged again cheerfully and kept that smile plastered to his face so hard that almost hurt. But to him, that seemed to be a small price to pay...as long as he was genuinely happy.

"I suppose there's no point in denying it anymore..." he said, pretending to be embarrassed, then raising his hand. "...guilty as charged."

Sor couldn't help but laugh at Tai now. His sense of humor had been missed...not just by Kari, but by a whole lot of people who knew what kind of person he was.

"Good to see you're feeling better," she said, closing her eyes, but still smiling.

"Hey, what else can I say? She and I are best friends...and...I love her," he replied, in his sincere voice.

That one quote immediately lodged itself into her head. Sor was still quite aware that she still had a great boyfriend, who had little flaws. Matt certainly was far from being abusive or neglecting her, nor did he ever have any desire to cheat on her with one of his fan girl floozies. So why was it that she felt so confused, torn, and conflicted inside? Why was it that she couldn't feel content?

"Ooh, almost forgot the sauce. I still can't believe mom wants to try making that raisin-covered, decaffeinated coffee-flavored ice cream cake...covered in tomato sauce."

Tai rushed past Sor to grab a couple of jars (of sauce), and at that moment Sor opened her eyes. Her vision had become blurred.

"Huh?" she almost whispered, as something wet crept down her cheek. "I'm...?"

"Got it!" Tai nearly yelled, pulling a list out of his pocket and quickly checking it. Sor hastily wiped her face with her coat sleeve.

"Got what?" Sor asked.

"That's everything on Mom's list! I'm gone!"

Tai paid for the food and the two of them left the store, with Sor desperately trying (as hard as she could) to keep a straight face. She also realized that the circumstances were flipped now. Now Sor was the one plastering smiles and posting semi-fake gestures of happiness for people to fall for.

"Tai?"

"Yeah?" asked Tai, as happy as Sor was a week or so ago.

In a second the conversation would turn. Tai wouldn't see both sides of Sor's predicament, but instead would see both sides of...HER. (So to speak.)

"Um...I-"

"HEY, lover boy!"

Tai and Sor whirled their heads in the direction of the enthusiastic voice. It was Sora!

"Hey yourself," Tai said as he swiftly took Sora in his arms and exchanged a fierce hug with her.

"And hello to you too, **gorgeous**..." Sora half-mockingly said to her counterpart, smiling as much as Tai was.

"Well, uh...listen I gotta meet with some friends, Tai..." Sor stammered, still keeping that pseudo-smile glued to her face. "...so I'll catch you later!"

"What was THAT all about?" Sora asked, still holding onto her boyfriend.

"Who knows? She wanted to talk to me, and timidly asked me about how I feel about you...and...ah, I dunno...things between me and her have been kinda...weird lately..."

"Well, we better get back...you're mom's gonna drive us to the arcade, remember?"

Tai nodded, and as the two walked hand in hand back to Tai's apartment, Sora took one last look at her twin who was now running in the opposite direction.

"Hmm..." she said with a VERY suspicious eye.

* * *

"So, um...where have you been hiding yourself, Sora?" Mrs. Kamiya asked as she drove the four kids to the arcade.

"Meaning what, exactly?" Sora asked back from the back seat of the car.

"Well, it's just that I haven't seen you in quite some time, that's all."

"Mom doesn't know about the 'two of you' yet," Tai whispered. Sora nodded, understanding completely.

Sora had always been a tremendous part of Tai's life. So much so that Mrs. Kamiya had always treated Sora her as one of her own children, so Sora didn't feel too well about lying to her...so she would have to bluff her way through this encounter as smoothly as she could.

"Oh, um, well...I wouldn't say I've been 'hiding', really...I've just been tremendously busy," Sora said with a little sweat trickling down her forehead.

"Busy with what?" Mrs. Kamiya said good-naturedly, with a smile.

"Well...y'know...STUFF."

Tai's mother shrugged and continued to smile, being pleased to think that Sora was taking time off from being with Matt to hang out with Tai. She may not have been fully cognizant of her son's past melancholy behavior, but she definitely saw that Tai was looking more up and about.

Soon thereafter, the four friends were dropped off at the "Mega-Mania Arcade." After being given some money to spend, they all agreed to a reasonable hour for pickup.

"This place is intense!" Sora exclaimed happily as she watched Mrs. Kamya drive off. "Is it new?"

"Not exactly, Sora," Kari noted.

"I think the place opened up about two years ago," T.K. said.

"Well, I've never been here before, guys! This should-"

* * *

"-be fun!" Sor said walking into the Mega-Mania Arcade with her female friends. "I haven't been here in a while!"

"For sure!" said one of the girls.

Thankfully, both groups of kids had gotten in rather early, and within the hour the place was packed. But, unfortunately...even in a place as big as this, it can still be pretty easy to run into people that you don't wish to meet up with...

"Ha! Beat ya again!" Sora proclaimed at one of the arcades.

"Yeah, right! I was just going easy on you!" Tai protested.

"Gee, where have I heard THAT one before?!" Kari said, rolling her eyes after watching Sora beat Tai at the game five times in a row.

Sora glanced at her watch, surprised to find that they'd already been here for half an hour. It seemed like only five minutes.

_I guess time really DOES fly when you're having fun_, she thought.

"Hey, guys!" yelled T.K. from far away, "I checked out the miniature golf course outside! They JUST updated it with new obstacles and stuff! Wanna try it out?"

"YEAH!" the other three yelled.

* * *

"All right! Hole in one!" Kari hollered, at her successful putt.

The four kids were a little less than halfway through the miniature golf course, with Sora and Kari beating the boys little by little.

"Yeah, yeah..." Tai grumbled.

"You two may have gotten in some lucky shots here and there for the first half, but Tai and I are gonna sending you girls home cryin'!" T.K. joked.

Sora was "first up to the plate" on the next hole. Unfortunately, she was feeling a little too cocky, given her good fortune so far at this game and hit her ball way off into the bushes.

"So...whaddya call THAT shot?!" asked T.K.

Sora wasn't mad, but playfully shot back...

"I call it 'Sora's gonna stuff that ball up your nose if you don't stop with the wisecracks!'...now, where did it go?"

"You need some help finding it, Sora?" asked Tai.

"No, it's all right...I'll handle it," Sora answered, starting to look through the bushes. "You three go on ahead, I'll catch up."

Tai nodded and signaled for Kari and T.K. to move on.

"Ah! There it is!" she said as she got down on her knees to pluck the red golf ball out from behind the bushes. But that's when her head collided with something just as hard.

"Ow!"

"Ow!"

Sora grumbled and rubbed the top of her head, and looked forward...into her own eyes! Of all the places to go why did both of them have to show up at the same location simultaneously?!

"What are **YOU** doing here?!?" they nearly yelled at each other.

"I'm here with my friends!" Sor hissed.

"I came with Tai, Kari and T.K.!" Sora declared.

"Yeah? Well buzz off, and go have fun somewhere else! I was here **first!**"

"Not even!"

For a few more seconds, the "twins" argued, but fortunately, their debate was interrupted prematurely.

"Hey, Sor!" a girl yelled from the golf course's second hole, "C'mon, you found your ball yet?"

"Uh, yeah! Be right there!" she yelled before turning her head to Sora. "We'll discuss this later. In the meantime...stay outta my way!"

"THHBPPPT!!!" was the only response Sora gave before she left...

And "Hnnnnnnggg!!!" was the only sound Sor made as she closed her eyes tightly and clenched her fists.

For the rest of the mini golf course, however, Sora did her best to stay out of her sister's way, for she had no real desire to explain to anyone why there were two girls hanging at the arcade who looked EXACTLY the same.

After golf, Tai and the others were ready to eat, and they sat down at the small food court to get some pizza for dinner. Tai went to get their food while Sora went to the bathroom to wash her hands. But as she left...

"Hey, girl!"

"Huh?!?" Sora went, as she saw someone calling for her. The brain in Sora's head panicked as she saw that the person calling for her wasn't Kari, Tai or T.K. It was one of her sister's female friends.

"C'mon, Sor! We were gonna try out those new videos games over there!" the girl said, pointing to a location far away in the wide building.

"Oh, but...I was gonna eat...!"

"Forget it! You're just gonna get fat! Now c'mon!" the girl said, grabbing Sora's arm, dragging her away.

What really surprised her was that obviously these "friends" of Sora badly needed to grab half a brain, seeing as how they totally didn't notice that Sora was dressed much differently from her sister.

_I don't __**believe**__ this_, she thought bitterly.

* * *

Sor exited from a different bathroom (that wasn't too far away from the restroom that her sister came out of) and was surprised to see that her friends were nowhere to be seen. Those girls were a little ditzy, but they weren't the types to ditch anyone. But it didn't take Sor long to figure out what probably happened. Those girls had found Sora by mistake and followed her around instead. At the same time, she didn't feel like looking for her double all by herself so she would need some help.

Then that meant the only people who could help her were...

* * *

"Well...eat up, you two!" Tai happily said as he laid down some pizza for Kari and T.K.

The two younger kids began to cheerfully munch through their helpings of cooked sauce, dough and cheese, but Tai began to worry about Sora who hadn't shown up.

"Hey, I wonder where Sora is?" he asked himself.

"I was beginning to wonder the same thing!" said a very familiar voice.

Kari's eyes narrowed when she saw who was talking.

"Sor!" Tai said in a very surprised voice. What are YOU doing here?"

"I came here with some of my friends. But that's kinda beside the point. Would I be correct if I guessed that my sister is missing?"

"Yeah. She, uh...just vanished before we started eating," T.K. stated. "How did you know?"

"Because I went looking for my friends after I came out of the bathroom, and they were gone. I've known them for a while...and they're groupies of some sort. They wouldn't go anywhere without me."

"I'm sure Mimi would be SO proud of your popularity increase," Kari said, with a nasty scowl.

Sor did her best to ignore her. The thought of trading barbs with Kari was tempting, but now was **not** the time.

"Well, let's find her first," Tai said. "Then we'll figure out how to pull the old 'switcheroo' on them!"

_That shouldn't be too hard_, Sor thought. _As much as I hate to admit it, those girls really aren't that smart to begin with..._

* * *

"Wow, Sor! I never knew you were THIS good at video games!" said the girls, clapping a little too loudly.

Sora felt slightly embarrassed.

"Ha, ha...well, it's just, uh...I practiced a lot!" she nervously replied, sweating a bit and letting go of the arcade console.

"Let me try!" chirped one of Sor's "groupies."

"By all means, knock yourself out!"

Sora's thought were running in circles. She didn't know ANY of these girls, despite the fact that they seemed virtually harmless. Where were Tai and the others?

"SO!" yelped one of the other girls. "How are things between you and that HOTTIE of a boyfriend?"

"Run that by me again?"

"Matt Ishida!" she squealed. "That hunk with the golden singing voice and even cooler golden hair!"

"Um...don't you think you're exaggerating a bit?"

"NO!" yelled the three girls.

"Well, uh...he's okay..."

_Ooh, GOOD choice of words. I don't know any better way to say it, though..._

"JUST OKAY!?!"

"It's just...I, uh, haven't seen him in a while, that's it!" Sora said, knowing that she wasn't exactly lying.

"Don't lie to us! We need details!"

"We've, uh...just been real busy, so we haven't dated in a long time! Honestly!" Sora protested.

The three girls were still crowded around Sora, even if she wasn't playing the arcade game. Without a doubt, Sora was pretty frustrated, wondering HOW her sister ever had the patience to handle these brainless cheerleader types.

"Psst!"

Sora turned her head in the direction of the sound, and was please to see Tai, Kari, and T.K. (with Sor) signaling to her from behind a crane game. Sora got an idea and-

"OUCH!" said one of the girls. "Hey, who pinched me?!"

The other two girls looked at each other, and shrugged.

"Not us," they both replied.

The girl continued playing her game until she felt someone pinch her again.

"All right, now I **know** someone pinched me that time! Saati, that HAD to have been you! I know how playful you get!"

"What?!" said Saati with a screech. "How **dare** you, Mokona! I was only hyperactive when I was kid!"

"Yeah, and it looks like you're still acting like one!"

The two girls argued a little more seriously than Sora and her sister did, but nonetheless, the plan was working. All it took was a harmless looking spark to get the fire started. And apparently, the these girls had more than enough fuel to last a dozen more arguments.

The last girl, Rachael, started to giggle at her fighting friends until it evolved into a laugh. Mokona and Saati ceased their bickering and immediately accused Rachael of setting them up into arguing. That's when all three of the girls went at it. When the discussion turned to irrelevant topics, that's when Sora knew she'd done her job. Tai and the others collected Sora, and left Sor to break up the arguing.

"Okay, that's enough, girls!" she declared.

"HUH?!"

"Come ON! You three are supposed to be friends! We're in a public place and I really don't wanna get kicked outta here!"

Saati, Rachael and Mokona looked at teach other for exactly five seconds and without warning quickly embraced and fiercely hugged each other, wailing and sobbing. They cried so much that Sor was afraid that she might get sprayed with their joyful tears. But things were okay for now. The switch had been made, and both Takenouchi girls were back with the group they belonged with...so to speak.

"Thanks for the save," Sora said giving Tai a kiss on the cheek. "Those girlie-girls were smothering me!"

"Certainly looked like it!" Tai said. "Now, let's get back to business...having fun!"

For another hour or so, the four kids had lots of fun, playing more video arcades, pinball machines, and laser-tag games.

"Man, that was so much fun it ought to be illegal!" Sora shouted with glee, as they left.

Mrs. Kamiya was very punctual picking up the kids. T.K. was promptly dropped off on time, and Sora was dropped off at Mimi's apartment. Not surprisingly, Tai preferred to walk her to the entrance.

"Whew! What a crazy evening!" Sora exclaimed.

"I'll say! So...what's next?"

"Tai! I'm surprised that you haven't gotten sick of me yet!"

"That will NEVER happen!" Tai said confidently as he wrapped his arms around Sora's waist and gently pressed his lips to hers. Sora didn't mean to, but she actually kept her eyes open.

Sora tried to say something, but she couldn't. Tai loved the cute little sounds she made. It was, after all, difficult to talk and kiss at the same time.

"Well!" she said blushing a bit and feeling a little flustered after Tai let go, "That...that's good to know!"

"So...answer me! What's in store for us!?"

"Oh, I got a GREAT idea! How about a sleepover?"

Tai's ears perked up at the word "sleepover".

"Seriously, Sora?"

"Yeah! Why not? We haven't done that in ages!"

"Why not indeed! Let's do it! But I'll need to ask Mom if it's cool!"

"Aw, does widdle Tai need Mommy's permission?" Sora mockingly asked.

"Har, har, har. So when're you available?"

"When? How about tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow? I was hoping tonight..." Tai said as he began to slowly and gently caress, nip, kiss and suck at her smooth neck.

"Ooh! I REEEALLY wish I could..." Sora moaned, "...but I can't! Sorry! I got stuff I need to do tonight."

"Stuff?! What kinda stuff?"

"Just...y'know...STUFF," Sora said in a suspiciously serious tone.

"Umm...okay, if you say so. But tomorrow night...you're MINE," Tai said, whispering at the end of his sentence, making Sora blush terribly again and nervously sweating.

"Hey...it's a date," she barely managed to say, giving a thumbs-up.

The two kissed once more and said their good-byes. Tai had unknowingly spent ten minutes outside the car, but Mrs. Kamiya decided not to complain, as long as her son was happy. She also knew full well that Matt Ishida was dating Sora. And although she didn't know what was going on, she was sure that there was a perfectly good reason as to why to two happy teens were freely kissing each other. Mrs. Kamiya didn't like to think that Sora was cheating on Matt, and genuinely hoped that wasn't the case. But there was no doubt Tai would tell her everything when he was ready.

* * *

Kari and her parents were still feeling awake when they got home, but Tai felt pretty wiped out, so he decided to hit the sack early. But for some unknown reason, he didn't feel...content.

Sure, he was ecstatic that a "new Sora" had waltzed into his complicated life and rearranged an emotional mess into a single, simple loving equation between him and her, but something was – and felt – wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, but SOMETHING felt slightly amiss. He was definitely happy. But did he feel at all content? Satisfied? Complete?

No.

And that was what really worried him. and the worst part was that whatever he was feeling...it was in some way linked to Sora, one way or another. He wasn't sure, but there had been subtle clues laid out before him, and he was just starting to out the pieces together. Regrettably, the "answer" to these pieces would ultimately solve nothing...for now.

**_FFFSSSHHHRRRKKK!!!_**

Tai jerked his head up from the pillow he was lying on, and glanced at the computer screen in his room, which was what made the noise.

He slowly got up and walked towards it. A faint image of someone appeared on the screen. But there was so much static, that he could barely make it out. And through the speakers the image began to address him.

"...SQWWRRKXX...PL...ND...T...I...WNT...ND...HL...P...CRRR..."

"Hey! Who's there?" Tai yelled to the screen.

Thankfully, none of his family had heard him yelling.

"OUX...DR...N...MO...AL...TA...ENT...

"Do you need help?!"

In one split second, for a single moment in time, the image and sound cleared. But it was so fast that no one would have been able catch it...except Tai, considering the image that had appeared.

Sora.

"...HELP..."

Tai's eyes widened for ten solid seconds. It couldn't have been. He just saw Sora minutes ago.

Not even a pizza delivery boy on a rush job could have picked up the phone receiver and dialed as quickly as Tai did.

* * *

About a minute later, an annoying sound echoed through the Tachikawa apartment.

Mimi was in the bathroom brushing her hair when the ringing of her pink telephone went off.

**_RRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!!_**

"Sora, could you get that?" Mimi hollered. "Sora?"

The longhaired girl could have sworn that Sora was in the next room over. So why couldn't she hear her, much less the phone?

Mimi grumbled as she answered the phone on the eighth ring.

"Tachikawa residence," she answered in the sweetest, most polite tone of voice she could muster.

"HELLO, Mimi?! I-is Sora there?!"

"Uh, yeah...but..."

"Is she **okay???**"

"Tai, what's going on?"

"IS SHE OKAY!?!"

"YES! I mean...yeah, she's just fine..."

"Good...I was trying to call earlier, but I couldn't get an answer-"

"Oh, that's because she was surfing the net and it was busying up the phone line."

"Could you PLEASE put her on?! I promise I'll explain later..."

"Sure, sure."

Mimi put her hand over the lower part of the phone receiver and called for Sora, who walked into the room and took the phone from Mimi.

"Tai, what's up? Mimi said you sounded like your head was gonna burst."

"SORA, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?"

"Whoa! Easy, Tai. Yeah, I'm cool. Why?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, absolutely! What's wrong?!"

"I...I...I don't know...I just...I thought I heard you call for help."

"Me...call for help? I, uh...I'm...I'm afraid I don't know what your talking about."

"Oh, um...wait...Sora...sorry, I was just asleep..." he partially lied. "I think I just had a horrible nightmare."

Sora nodded on the other side of the line, understanding that Tai had been under a lot of stress lately.

"I understand...but I'm fine, really."

"You sure?"

"Positive. But it was sweet of you to call me. Never hurts to have a boyfriend who cares too much."

"All...all right...anyway, I really should get some rest. I'm sure I'll be better in the morning."

"I hope so too, Tai," Sora said. "I'll see ya tomorrow. Kiss, kiss...I love you!"

"I love you, too. Later," Tai said with a smile and hung up.

But part of him was still inwardly frowning. He knew what he saw was real. It was no illusion.

"That leaves two possibilities," he said to himself. "Either my computer's **really** on the fritz...or Sora's NOT what she appears to be."

Now Tai knew for sure that something was up. During his original adventures in the Digital World, he may have been younger, less experienced, and headstrong, but whenever there was a crucial choice to be made, he always went with his gut. And with all the hardships he had endured over time, rarely had his gut ever steered him wrong.

That's what really bothered him...this time, gut was telling him one thing, in full color, clear as crystal...there was something important that Sora wasn't telling him.

It was also quite possible that Sora herself didn't know what was going on either, but she was definitely hiding something, whether she knew it or not.

"And I'm gonna find out what it is," Tai said in a low, determined, yet sad voice.

**

* * *

**

My, what a story! With all the dramatics here and there I forgot to mention one more disclaimer, that I did. Whose Liner does not own a character such as this one, the "Rurouni Kenshin." Anyway, the author hopes that you thoroughly enjoyed this chapter and there will be more to come, he promises. If I did a good job, and if you fans wish it, Mr. Liner may hire me back for next time! Oh, and please...I would appreciate it if none of you were to tell Ms. Kaoru that I am here, that I would. If she were to find me...well, let's just say I'm supposed to be helping her train today, that I am...

_**HITEN-MITSURUGI STYLE!!!**_


	13. Finding Trouble In All The Right Places

Hello! And welcome to the fictitious writings from the author known as Whose Liner! If you know the name of the chapter you'd like to read, please click the entry for the story title now! If you'd like to make another choice, leave and select another story! If you're selection is "Disclaimer", scroll down to the end! If you're selection is "Second Chances For Sora", keep reading!  
  
You have selected "Second Chances For Sora!"...rated PG! To find the chapter you wish to read, please choose a selection from the blue box in front of you now! To view Chapter 13, please read on!  
  
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Second Chances For Sora - Chapter 13  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
"Sora, I'm not sure how much more of this I can take!" Tai wailed as he ran down a path through a park.  
  
The girl jogging in front of him shot him a glance and just smirked.  
  
"Gimme a break, Tai! Are you a man or not!? You better pick up the pace or your name's Mud!"  
  
"In a second, you can name me DEAD! 'Cause this jogging is killing me!"  
  
"All right let's take a break for a second!" Sora said reluctantly. Tai slumped down on a nearby bench, while Sora just continued to jog in place.  
  
Tai eyed Sora rather suspiciously, partially from what had transpired the night before. Seeing Sora's face for that brief instant on his computer screen had REALLY freaked him out. Additionally, he found himself mentally questioning the origin of where she got all this near-limitless supply of energy.  
  
Then again, it was before seven in the morning. Tai COULD have been just overreacting this time around.  
  
"Listen, Tai...the final soccer match to win the title is in just a few days. THREE to be exact! We gotta be ready and willing to take them down!"  
  
"I suppose next, you're gonna tell me that this is war!"  
  
"Weeeell...I wouldn't go THAT far..."  
  
"BUT?"  
  
"But you said yourself that these guys are absolute terrors on the field. They shoot first and ask questions later...?"  
  
Tai chuckled a little, being that he was slightly short of breath. "Something like that."  
  
"C'mon, wimp!" Sora enthusiastically exclaimed. "This is the THIRD time you've stopped! We still have a ways to go before we're ready!"  
  
"You really got your heart set on this, huh?"  
  
Sora stopped jogging in place, but leaned a little on the bench Tai was sitting on.  
  
"Well, it's not just that, Tai. Aside from the last soccer match the two of us were in...I, uh..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, back when I was on the girls' soccer team, we also made it to the finals...and they were really depending on me. But when Mom stopped me from playing...they lost the match without me to help them. I vowed never to let that happen again, no matter what."  
  
Tai slowly nodded as he remembered. During those times, Sora and Tai were on separate soccer teams. But it had become something of a tradition to watch each other's game, and Tai had come. He was surprised to see that Sora wasn't there, bur decided to watch the game anyway. Then he began to realize the great significance of Sora's words.  
  
"I remember now," Tai said, "I found you, dripping wet..."  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
FOUR YEARS AGO...  
  
"Yes, yes...I understand. I'll keep my eyes open, but let's hope you can get a hold of her soon. It looks like rain."  
  
Mrs. Kamiya hung up the phone and suddenly turned her head as she heard the door open.  
  
"Tai, thank goodness! The rain was just starting up! So, how did Sora's soccer game go?"  
  
"Actually, she wasn't there! She didn't show up for the entire game! And her team LOST, to boot!" Tai almost panicked.  
  
"She wasn't there?! But I just talked to her mother over the phone! She said that Sora ran off to the game anyway!"  
  
"Well, she STILL didn't show up! Right after the game was over, I ran off to find her!  
  
"Oh, dear! Then...where IS Sora?!"  
  
"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out!" Tai nearly yelled, turning back to the front door and grabbing an umbrella.  
  
"Tai, just where do you think you're going?!"  
  
"Where else? I'm going out to find Sora!"  
  
"But sweetie...! It's really starting to come down! Sora could be out there all drenched!"  
  
"All the more reason to find her!" Tai declared dashing out the door before his mom could say another word.  
  
Tai has been searching the street for almost fifteen minutes, though it seemed like forever to him. He was tired of running, but at least he could keep dry, thanks to the giant umbrella he was using. Tai had gone pretty far, but he wasn't about to give up. It was as if some higher power was almost forcibly drawing him out here and compelling him to stay outdoors until he found who he was looking for. And just then...  
  
...Tai found her.  
  
Originally, Tai had expected to find Sora sitting on a bench or rock. But she was walking instead. Drenched by the rain. Covered in flood from the sky. Soaked in tears from the heavens, which only served to amplify her own. Where she was walking to, she didn't know, nor did she care. All that was going through her mind was that she just had to keep moving.  
  
"SORA!!!" Tai yelled from behind her.  
  
Sora didn't turn her head. She either didn't hear him or didn't care to listen.  
  
Tai never liked forcing himself on someone, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him. He rushed up to his best friend from behind and turned her to face him. Sora didn't even try to fight him off. Yet another bad sign. Tai felt a shiver up his spine as she stared back at him with a hollow look in her eyes.  
  
Then the questions came. Tai babbled at least a dozen questions. They were spilling out of his mouth faster than he could think them up, so many of the questions repeated themselves. Sora had felt so traumatized from the occurrences a couple of hours before.  
  
Even if this mental status was only temporary, Sora already acknowledged in the back of her mind that this was something that would imbed itself into her mind, and this memory could never hope to be removed, no matter how hard she tried to pull it out.  
  
Mrs. Kamiya was truly at a loss for words when Tai brought Sora back to his apartment. Tai's mother called up Sora's mom, and told her that her daughter was safe and sound. Since it had already gotten late, Mrs. Kamiya thought it might be best for Sora to spend the night.  
  
The girl's soccer uniform was soaked from the rain, so Mrs. Kamiya took it to be washed while Sora engaged in a hot bath. The 11 year-old girl didn't say anything, nor did she display much emotion. Purely out of concern, Tai peaked in to get a look at Sora's face. It was the same as when he found her.  
  
Still a blank slate.  
  
Sora had a set of clean clothes in her soccer bag, but she decided to save those for tomorrow, so she borrowed some of Tai's clothes to sleep in. Still feeling sorry for her, Tai let her sleep in his bed. By now, the Kamiya family was just starting have dinner, but Sora was too tired and depressed to eat. Still, Tai stepped into his room, and brought Sora a tray of warm soup to have. She had already gotten under the covers of Tai bed, but it seemed she wanted to get something into her system. Tai watched with some surprise as Sora consumed her soup rather quickly, but at the same time, she kept being quiet.  
  
Not once leaving her side while she ate, Tai asked about three or four times what was wrong, but Sora was as silent as ever. He scratched his head and adjusted the goggles still fastened around his head and sighed. Sora silently handed Tai back the tray and he turned to go but just then-  
  
"Tai..."  
  
The young boy whipped his head around and looked at Sora. Her voice was a faint whisper, but it was more than enough to grab Tai's attention. He placed the tray down and walked back to Sora, kneeling at her side.  
  
"Sora..." he nearly whispered back, "What's wrong?"  
  
Tai almost gasped when he got a look at Sora's face. Her tears were already starting and she was ready to cry. And cry she did. She wailed and sobbed, throwing her arms around Tai, who turned a little red. He closed his eyes halfway and hugged her back, doing his best to comfort her.  
  
Later Sora would reveal everything that had occurred from her point of view, but for now...a pair of arms to hold and keep her safe in her small pocket of the universe was all that Sora needed for now.  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
"Sorry, Sora..." Tai said. "I guess I forgot...until we got paired up on the same soccer team, you had never won a championship title before."  
  
Sora nodded, a little sad and angry at the memory.  
  
"I was so close to winning...so close, and yet so far."  
  
Tai knew what Sora needed was some good ol' comforting, so while she sat down on a park bench, he leaned forward a bit, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind. Sora was taken aback for a moment.  
  
"Whoa, HEY...I mean...uh, Tai? Excuse me, I-" Sora stammered, tuning red.  
  
Looking back, Sora realized that while she was glad that the two of them had gotten together, this passionate part of Tai was something new that she hadn't exactly gotten used to yet...not that she was complaining, of course.  
  
"What's wrong?" Tai asked softly, closing his eyes.  
  
"H-hey, we sh-shouldn't be getting all mushy while we're training...!"  
  
Tai began to smile and only tightened his grip around his girlfriend more.  
  
"I don't care," he sighed.  
  
"Uhhh..." Sora went, thinking for a moment.  
  
She realized that she was talking nonsense, and decided to give in. She closed her eyes, as well, and smiled as she held onto Tai's arms, which were firmly wrapped around her like a ribbon.  
  
"Mmm..." she sighed.  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
Sora and Tai parted soon thereafter, and agreed on when they should meet up back at Tai's apartment. Unfortunately, Sora was running low on clean clothes to wear, so she decided to quickly jog back to her "old" home, and "borrow" some more. Afterwards, she would head back to Mimi's, and chill until the afternoon, which was when Tai and Sora would hold their sleepover.  
  
It was still pretty early in the morning when Sora got back to her old apartment, and Mrs. Takenouchi had gotten out of bed barely a half-hour ago. "Sor", her "first" child was already in the kitchen, and her mother was pleased to see that her daughter had already made some coffee.  
  
"Up early too, huh?" Sor asked her mother.  
  
"Yep..." Mrs. Takenouchi replied.  
  
Sor poured some coffee for her mom, and the two of them sat down at the table, slowly drinking the beverage, full of caffeine to wake the two females up. Sor had gotten a little sluggish, and wanted to take a shower, but decided to save it for the afternoon, since she had a date with Matt that night.  
  
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!  
  
"I'll get it, Mom," Sor said as she got up.  
  
Sor opened up the door to have her eyes greet the living mirror that was her sister. Sor would have been surprised or something like that, had she not woken up early. She was still pretty groggy, and was too tired to deal with her twin sister right now.  
  
Sor let her sister in, and Mrs. Takenouchi was a little more alert when she saw her other daughter walk in.  
  
"OH! H-hello, dear! I wasn't expecting to see you here this early," she almost stammered, somewhat embarrassed that she was still in her bathrobe (and Sor in her pajamas), while Sora was fully dressed.  
  
Apparently, THIS Sora was a real early bird.  
  
Then again, she recalled that Sora used to be an early bird when she was a few years younger. Guess old habits die hard...or not at all, especially if you're the mother of a double of your only daughter who spent the last four years on her own without any help or human contact.  
  
(Boy, what a mind job!)  
  
"I wasn't expecting to see you at ALL," Sor added.  
  
"Oh, honey...don't tease now!" Mrs. Takenouchi gently scolded. "So, what brings you here?"  
  
"Well, I was just, ah...going to spend the night at Tai's...you know...a sleepover. And I just wanted to know if I could borrow some of your clothes, sis?" Sora asked, turning to her sister.  
  
Sora had her back turned until she heard the words "Tai" and "sleepover" come out of her sister's mouth.  
  
"Haven't you 'borrowed' enough from me?" Sor asked, slightly annoyed.  
  
Sora knew in the back of her head that her twin meant that she was referring to more than just borrowing clothes. But she was too much in a cheerful mood to be down right now.  
  
"Geez, what bug flew up YOUR pants and bit you?!" Sora smirked.  
  
Sor rolled her eyes, and led Sora into her room. Mrs. Takenouchi watched all this and lightly chuckled, seeing as how her two daughters were acting like real sisters.  
  
"So, what do you want? A dress? High heel shoes? Jewelry and makeup?" Sor asked.  
  
"Yeah, right! I'd sooner jump out a window than wear that stuff!" Sora laughed.  
  
Aside from her tag and Crest of Love that she kept from her travels in the Digital World, Sora didn't own any other jewelry or makeup, nor did she want to.  
  
"Actually, I just needed a few more pairs of socks, undergarments, jeans, T- shirts..."  
  
"Oh," Sora said, slightly surprised. "I have plenty more pairs of those that I don't need."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Really. I keep a few pairs for myself, but I wear skirts and dresses more often, especially since I go out on dates with Matt. So...anyway, if you want them, then they're all yours. Mom said that she'd just give them away if I didn't wear them. She didn't want to see them to go waste."  
  
"Oh...well, thanks!" exclaimed Sora as she gathered up what she needed into a small duffel bag. "Hey, speaking of Matt, he has a band now, right?"  
  
"That's right. The Teenage Wolves."  
  
"Interesting. Are they any good?"  
  
"Check 'em out and see for yourself. They practice at that big, abandoned warehouse just outside of the town."  
  
"Oh, yeah...I think I've seen it."  
  
By now, Sora was all packed up and ready to go. But before she left the bedroom, Sor stopped her by grabbing her arm.  
  
"Did we forget something?" she asked, slightly annoyed.  
  
"Um, no but..."  
  
"But what?"  
  
"Well, I...you don't...really like me, do you?"  
  
Sora looked at her double with wide eyes. She was amazed that she asked her this question, but at the same time, her brain was still trying to grasp with the idea that she was – literally – talking to herself. There was also no doubt in her mind that Sor was also thinking these same thoughts.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Sora stared at her twin for a long, hard moment before finally answering.  
  
"Well, I'll say this much...I'd be lying if I said I hated you. But I gotta admit...you're not exactly my favorite right now...and your definitely a few notches away from...well...just don't go there."  
  
"Is...is Tai everything...y'know...everything you expected?"  
  
"If you mean romantically, then yeah! Everything and more."  
  
"You're really lucky to have each other."  
  
"From the way he was acting when he visited me for the first time at Mimi's, I'd say I arrived in the nick of time. Y'know, he told me that he'd almost given up hope on you...it's refreshing to know that at least one of...US didn't," Sora stated, sounding a little angry.  
  
"What's THAT supposed to mean?" Sor snapped.  
  
"Gee, and here I thought you lost half of your brain! Prove me wrong and figure it out for yourself!"  
  
"Huh?!"  
  
"You BROKE Tai's heart! Tai Kamiya...your...OUR...BEST FRIEND!"  
  
"Hey, he had his opportunity!"  
  
"Yeah, right! How do you figure? You didn't even give him a chance!"  
  
"I did too! I waited for him for FOUR years and what did it get me!? Nothing but heartbreak, pain, impatience, and frustration! I dropped several subtle or obvious hints as to how I felt, and the best response I got was that of a grain of sand!"  
  
"HEARTBREAK?! I find it hard to believe that you even know the meaning of the word! Whatever kinda hints you gave Tai, did you ever stop to think that a simple 'I love you' would be more than enough to catch his attention?!"  
  
Sor stopped talking for a moment and thought about it. It was true...during that time, she tried to express how she felt to Tai in SO many ways...EXCEPT for the direct approach. She felt so amazed that she hadn't thought of it, and that just made her feel even more ashamed. But she did her best to hide what she was feeling for the moment.  
  
"Even when he and I are together," Sora continued, "I can FEEL his pain! And that's just for starters! You hurt a lot of other people too!"  
  
"Hey, now that's going too far!"  
  
"IS it? Ever think about how Tai's pain affected his sister, Kari? Or how much that made T.K. worry? How about Mimi, as well?"  
  
"MIMI?!" Sor nearly screeched. "What the heck does SHE hafta do with all this!?!"  
  
"I'll say it again, idiot! You're supposed to be smart! Figure it out!"  
  
The two Soras glared at each other for a few seconds, until Sor decided to speak up, albeit a little hesitantly.  
  
"Look, you just...you just don't understand. What happened between me and Tai was complicated-"  
  
"Oh, I understand, all right. You don't have your way with Tai, so you just decide that the only way to get him back is with downright revenge, cutting yourself off from him as much as possible!"  
  
"STOP! You're twisting around the truth!"  
  
"So you don't deny it?"  
  
"I...I..."  
  
"WELL?"  
  
"LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"  
  
In the kitchen, Mrs. Takenouchi heard this and the shouting was definitely potent, waking her out of her half-asleep state. She decided not to get herself involved in their discussion unless it was absolutely necessary.  
  
"Just...just GO...go already, will you!?!" Sora stammered, turning away from her double.  
  
Sora walked around to face her sister once more, despite the fact that Sor had her head lowered. And the sound of heavy panting that Sor was emitting didn't help soften the situation one bit.  
  
"Y'know, I'm almost surprised that Tai still considers you one of his buddies. You ought to be ashamed to call yourself his friend..." Sora grimly whispered in a...VERY eerie voice that made Sor a little suspicious.  
  
But she said nothing.  
  
Sora turned to leave, but she came back to face Sor one more time.  
  
"By the way..." she said. She paused a bit before continuing to talk, causing Sor to look up.  
  
Sor watched Sora use her free hand to reach under the collar of her yellow T-shirt.  
  
"What?" Sor whispered in a semi-"defeated" voice.  
  
Sora removed the piece of "jewelry" from around her neck and dangled it in front of Sora's eyes, causing them to widen. And that's not too surprising, considering the fact that – technically – Sor had lost the item that was presented in front of her.  
  
It was the Crest of Love.  
  
"I deserve this more than you," Sora said firmly.  
  
Sor whipped up her head in frustration, and a couple of angry tears began to seep down her cheeks. Her sister leaned her face forward until their eyes were locked in place with each other. Sor felt an extremely uncomfortable chill run up her spine when she heard the next few words tumble out of her double's mouth.  
  
"One more thing. We may be the same person...but I'm more Sora Takenouchi than you'll EVER be."  
  
Sora immediately left the apartment, before Mrs. Takenouchi could stop her to explain what all the yelling was about. She began to feel a little guilty about what she said to her sister, but at the same time, she felt that her words were somewhat justified.  
  
I guess I was a little hard on 'sis', Sora thought to herself.  
  
"But she can't continue this way! She's gotta respect other peoples' feelings!" she finished transferring her thoughts to her voice.  
  
HONK, HONK!  
  
Sora turned her head and saw that a car had pulled up by the sidewalk. She smiled a little as she saw that her dad was the driver.  
  
"Need a lift, sweetheart?"  
  
Sora smiled a little more, and nodded.  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
Out at the warehouse where Matt and his band practiced, the music that came from inside it ceased.  
  
"Okay, guys...that's enough for now. Let's take a break!" Matt hollered.  
  
All of Matt's band members agreed and temporarily left the warehouse to get something to eat. Matt gave his friends some money to buy him something as well.  
  
Matt put down his electric guitar, and suddenly turned his head when one of his band members tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"What's up?" he asked.  
  
"Uh...not to break your concentration, but your girlfriend's here."  
  
"Huh?! She is?"  
  
Matt's friend pointed out the window, and Matt indeed saw Sora standing there outside. But upon closer observation, he noticed that his "girlfriend" was dressed pretty casually, clad in a yellow T-shirt, blue jeans, and dark gray sneakers.  
  
"Oh! R-right! M...my girlfriend! Uh...thanks!" Matt said nervously as he left the warehouse.  
  
Sora looked at her red watch for the fifth time since she got here. Then she looked back at the parked car with her father at the wheel. She held up her hand to indicate that she only needed five minutes. Mr. Takenouchi understood and nodded. Sora finally exhaled a sigh of relief as she watched Matt walk out of the building to meet her.  
  
"Um...SORA! What, uh...what're YOU...d...doing here?" Matt almost sputtered.  
  
"My sister sorta told me about you and your band, so I just came to say hello," Sora replied, in a friendly voice.  
  
"And that's it?"  
  
"Actually...no. I, uh...wanted to apologize."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Well, for the way I acted when you hugged me, y'know? I didn't mean to be so cold when I pushed you away."  
  
"Oh, is that all? Well, don't even give it another thought. That's behind me now."  
  
"I just thought it would be polite to apologize anyway."  
  
"I see. Thanks, all the same. Besides, it's written all over your face that you're not romantically interested in me."  
  
"Yeah," Sora said, blushing a little. "Tai's the one I care most about."  
  
"Well, I for one am really glad to see that you two got together. You two are practically made for each other."  
  
"No argument there, but things aren't going as smoothly as they could be."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"First, Tai's mom thinks that I'm cheating on YOU."  
  
"Sora, how could you!?" Matt said, raising his voice and pretending to sound hurt.  
  
The two kids laughed before Sora continued.  
  
"And second...well, everyone thinks that Tai and I were meant for each other...but I'm afraid my sister doesn't agree," Sora said, with the cheerful expression on her face slowly turning into a frown.  
  
"Hmm..." Matt quietly said to him himself, the wheels turning.  
  
Matt thought about Sor and his date with her tonight. It was definitely time for a little chat with her...  
  
Sora turned away from Matt for a moment to take notice of the nearby river outside of the warehouse. The two continued their conversation while walking for a few minutes along the riverside. "Y'know...everyone I meet seems to think that...I'm JUST some copy of Sora. But I'm not."  
  
"Well, hey...I certainly don't see you that way," Matt said.  
  
Sora turned around to face Matt with a dubious look on her pretty face.  
  
"Oh, come on, Matt...can you honestly look at me and say that?"  
  
Matt looked closely at Sora and rethought.  
  
"Okay, okay, you got me. I'll admit that SOME part of me only sees you as...a COPY."  
  
"Man, if people keep calling me that, I might really take offense to that word," Sora joked. "Anyway, I'm NOT a copy. I'm my own person. I may LOOK like Sora, sound like her, and have her memories, but I'm more."  
  
"It sounds like you're, uh...trying to prove that...you're NOT Sora..." Matt said, suspiciously.  
  
Sora began to stammer as she realized that the conversation was taking a detour that that she didn't want to go into.  
  
"Wha...oh, NO! I, uh, I didn't mean it like that! Heh, heh...no, um...what I meant was..."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
Sora turned a little more serious and looked a bit sad for a moment.  
  
"It's just that...well, I wanna be recognized as an individual...y'know?"  
  
"Uh..." was all that Matt could get out as Sora looked at him with a certain amount of passion in her voice, and a cute fixed (and facial) expression.  
  
Matt couldn't help but blush a little, despite the fact that her passionate features weren't directed towards him. He began to chuckle.  
  
"Wanna let me in on the joke?" Sora asked.  
  
"Nothing...you just reminded me of...HER...when you acted like that," Matt said.  
  
"I rest my case," Sora noted, as she rolled her eyes.  
  
"Aw, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that you looked really cute when you did that."  
  
Sora shot Matt a wry smile and shook her head slowly.  
  
"Don't even try, Matt."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You may have romanticized my sister that way, but I already have a TERRIFIC boyfriend."  
  
"Hey, wait a sec! I wasn't trying to...to..." Matt stammered, pointing at Sora.  
  
"ANYTHING you say!" Sora went, cutely smiling and shrugging. "It's clear that you're not the same cold, 'lone wolf' kid that I remember, but let's get one thing clear..."  
  
"What now?"  
  
"When it comes to you and my sister...do whatever you want, okay? That's YOUR business. But try that charm on ME..."  
  
"And?"  
  
"I'll make it simple...keep your paws to yourself."  
  
Matt had no choice but to smile and agree, especially since Sora had grabbed the outside of his hands and was pinching the skin. He interpreted her actions as a sign that this would probably be as close as he would ever get to holding Sora's hands.  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
"So what was that all about?" Mr. Takenouchi as he drove Sora away from the warehouse.  
  
"Oh...let's just say that I was just setting up some ground rules with Matt."  
  
Sora's dad took this as a sign that this was something he probably didn't want to know about.  
  
"So, where to now?" he asked.  
  
"Can you drop me off at Mimi's place? I'm gonna chill there for a few hours and then head over to Tai's for a sleepover."  
  
"Sure thing, sweetheart. But you mind if I stopped off at the store? I need to pick up a few things for dinner tonight."  
  
"Go ahead...I'm in no rush."  
  
Mr. Takenouchi pleasantly surprised at how relaxed and reasonable this second daughter of his was. Sor had become something of a nagger and complainer over time, despite the fact that her parents knew that she was a teenager and she was just growing up. But Sora here seemed to be as cheerful and easy-going as she was when she was only eleven.  
  
Sora decided to go into the store with her dad, sensing that he wanted to talk with her some more.  
  
"Y'know, Sora...your mom still wishes that you would come home to live with us," Mr. Takenouchi noted.  
  
"I...I know. I'm just not ready yet," Sora stated.  
  
"Well, don't worry...I talked it over with her, and I think she understands. But she still misses you."  
  
"But...HOW could she possibly have missed me?! Up until a little while ago, she had NO idea that I'd even existed!" Sora asked, very confused.  
  
"Well..." Mr. Takenouchi began to say, while reaching for a can of sauce on a high shelf, "...you see when your mother and I got married, she really wanted kids."  
  
"And?"  
  
"Y'see...your mother and I, uh...TRIED to have children, but...we...didn't have much luck. Mom was VERY disappointed, and finally after a few years...YOU were born. She may never have shown it, but she was extremely protective of you, wanted to make sure that one way or another...she would never lose you."  
  
Sora's eyes widened a bit at this revelation, since her father was revealing a side of her mother's that Sora never knew existed.  
  
"Umm...go on."  
  
"Anyway...after our first child, your mom felt that she couldn't deal with the possibility that she might never have another kid. But when you came to visit us, she told me in private that she was overjoyed that we now had TWO daughters."  
  
"Okay..."  
  
"And the reason she was so eager to meet you was that...well, somehow she knew that you'd be pretty different from our 'other' daughter, and...she told me that she felt it was really important to treat you fairly...not just a double of our kid, but as an individual."  
  
The last word that came out of Mr. Takenouchi's mouth hit Sora hard. How ironic that one of the things that she desired most – to be treated like a separate person – came from her mother. Sora's attitude towards her would slowly, but surely do a one-eighty.  
  
Wow, Sora thought. I never imagined Mom being described like that. She wanted children that badly? And here I thought she was my worst nightmare come to life...  
  
Not much was said from either Sora or her dad the rest of the time they were at the store. But the conversation picked back up inside the car, as well as the mood of the talking, especially since they began to chat about Sora's relationship with Tai.  
  
Within minutes, Mr. Takenouchi dropped off Sora at Mimi's apartment. Sora said goodbye to her dad, and she even "let" him kiss her goodbye on the forehead before she exited the car.  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
The next few hours passed by pretty fast for Sora, and before she knew it, she was already at Tai's house having dinner with the Kamiya family. She was welcomed with open arms by all of them, and even their pet cat, Miko.  
  
So much was said during the meal. Although the conversation seemed pretty normal, it would take a miracle to read in between and behind was what being said. That is, to differentiate between what was being said and what was REALLY being said.  
  
After dinner, Sora volunteered to help Kari and Mr. Kamiya with the dishes. Tai's mom was going to help too, but before she did, she took Tai aside to talk to him.  
  
"Tai...listen, I...I've seen the way you and Sora have been acting around each other and it worries me."  
  
"Mom, what are you talking about?"  
  
"The way Sora's behaving towards you...I...well, I..."  
  
Mrs. Kamiya sighed, closed her eyes, and placed her hand against her forehead before speaking again.  
  
"I'm just very concerned. Now, first of all...I know that Sora loves you very much. Don't...don't try to deny it, sweetie. But...I have to ask you something, and I think you know what it is."  
  
Tai had a sneaking suspicion in the back of his head that he knew what she was going to ask. And he'd be right.  
  
"Tai, are you and Sora...seeing each other? I mean...behind Matt's back?"  
  
Mrs. Kamiya knew that normally, Sora and Tai were smart kids and definitely knew the difference between right and wrong. Still...when you're in love, that emotion can make you do crazy things, and the ethics of the right deeds and wrong deeds become compromised.  
  
Tai smiled and shook his head.  
  
"No, we aren't, Mom. And believe me, that IS the truth."  
  
"All right," Mrs. Kamiya sighed. "I trust you and Sora."  
  
"Look, if you really need a explanation, then just call up Sora's mom...she'll explain everything to you."  
  
"Okay, honey. I just don't want to see you do the wrong thing," Tai's mom said before giving her son a hug.  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
In another apartment building, Izzy Izumi, the Digidestined of Knowledge, still had his eyes glued to his yellow laptop. On occasion, the signal inside Etemon's pyramid that he was searching for would appear only for a brief moment, and then it would be gone.  
  
The only difference this time...was that the signal WASN'T going away. In fact, the energy signal began to GROW...almost as if it was calling out to Izzy, whom found this all very strange. It almost seemed like the signal had a mind of its own, and WANTED to be investigated.  
  
This time, Izzy AND the signal were present at the same time, and staring at each other. But after so many hours (well, maybe not HOURS) of slipping in and out of consciousness in front of his laptop, he was determined NOT to let the signal slip through his fingers so easily this time around.  
  
Izzy began typing furiously on the laptop's built in keyboard, and set up a program to record the patterns and fluctuations that the energy signature was emitting. The teenage boy smiled confidently, thinking that it wouldn't be long now before this case would be cracked.  
  
"Gotcha now," Izzy almost whispered at the computer screen.  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
"Hey, where's Sora?" Kari asked as she passed out bowls of ice cream to everyone sitting at the table.  
  
Tai looked around and saw that Sora was missing.  
  
"Hmm...that's strange. She was just here. Maybe she's in my room," Tai said.  
  
The fifteen year-old knocked on his bedroom door, but there was no answer. So he tugged at the doorknob and peeked inside the room.  
  
He immediately saw a bright light in the room, and knew that it had to have been his computer. Peeking into the room further he saw Sora sitting at the desk where the computer was. But then his eyes narrowed when he got a look at Sora.  
  
She just sat there at the computer, with what looked like a blank stare, and glassy-looking eyes to match. True, it may have been a trick of the light reflecting off of Sora's face, but there was something about the situation that he just couldn't-  
  
"Tai, honey?" Tai's mom yelled, breaking his concentration.  
  
"Yeah, Mom?" he hollered back, turning his head back towards his family.  
  
"Tell Sora to come get her dessert."  
  
Tai nodded and pushed the door open all the way and called for Sora. She quickly broke out of her "trance" and her finger dashed over to the switch to turn off the computer. Tai was a little frustrated that he wasn't able to get a look at whatever Sora had been staring at on the computer screen.  
  
Sora quickly turned her head and looked at Tai, feeling half-panicky.  
  
"Something wrong, Tai?" she asked rather fast.  
  
"Umm...no, my mom just wanted to tell you that dessert's ready."  
  
"Oh, great! Ice cream?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Awesome! I'm there!" Sora exclaimed as she happily whizzed past Tai and headed back to the table.  
  
Tai looked at Sora and sighed, putting one hand on his hip and exhaling deeply. Anyone could have seen at that moment that he was not a happy camper.  
  
Man, he thought. What is UP with her?!  
  
After dessert, Tai's parents decided to turn in early, and Kari went back to her room to chat with T.K. over the Internet. The two remaining individuals decided to stay up like they used to and play games, and watching late-night movies on the television.  
  
"Ah, this is a lousy movie, Tai. Turn it off, will ya?" Sora complained. "Sure," Tai shrugged as he reached for the remote control and pressed the "POWER" button. "But why?"  
  
"Well," Sora purred as she curled up to Tai on the couch, "Everyone else is gone...we got some real privacy now."  
  
"I can see our sleepovers will be real different from now on," Tai noted.  
  
Sora giggled, knowing that Tai couldn't have been more right. Tai laughed too until he noticed that there was something attached around her neck, but he immediately figured it out what it was.  
  
"Hey, Sora...is that your crest?" he asked, pointing.  
  
"Huh? Oh, uh...yeah."  
  
"Can I see it?"  
  
"Sure," Sora said casually, removing the pendant from her neck, and handing it to Tai.  
  
Tai stared intently at the tag and the crest inserted inside it. "Wow," was all that he could say.  
  
"Wow?"  
  
"It's just that...I haven't seen the crests in a long time."  
  
Sora was pretty curious at what Tai meant, so their conversation turned to their adventures in the Digital World. Similar to their first date, Sora was informed about just how much she missed while she traveled the Digital World by herself. Only Tai went more in-depth this time, including his little sister becoming the Digidestined of Light, and the temporary loss of their crests during their final battle in the Digiworld against the mighty Apocalymon.  
  
Tai was a little afraid that the topic they were discussing had drifted far from the little romantic mood that Sora had in mind, but apparently she didn't seem to care much. In fact, she seemed very interested in what Tai had to say. She became extremely interested when Tai noted how powerful their crests proved to be and how they had the power to digivolve their digimon even further into their "ultimate" forms.  
  
"Well..." Sora began to say, taking back her crest, "...looks like I'm gonna hafta teach Birdramon some new tricks! I hope she digivolves into something awesome!"  
  
"Oh, I don't think you gotta worry about that..." Tai said, half-grinning. "Hey...just outta curiosity, Sora...has you crest ever glowed?"  
  
"Glowed?" Sora asked, making sure she heard right.  
  
"Yeah, that a sure sign that your 'champion' level digimon is ready to digivolve again. So...has it ever glowed?"  
  
Sora's expression turned a little sad.  
  
"Umm...actually, no," she said in a low voice.  
  
"Oh...sorry," Tai said, putting a comforting arm around his girlfriend. "Let me guess...you're worried that possibly it's because you're not sure if you really know what love is...right?"  
  
Sora gave a small gasp and stared at Tai with wide eyes.  
  
"HOW...how did you-"  
  
"Well...truth be told, your sister went through the very same thing about four years ago. She was really upset about it."  
  
Sora started to think about her past conversation with Sor. And Sora remembered how she said that her sister that wasn't at all deserving of the Crest of Love. Sora meant it when she said she was worthier of it than Sor would ever be! And in due time, she would do her best to prove it!  
  
"I'm no crybaby!" Sora declared, putting her arms around Tai's neck. "Birdramon will digivolve when the time is right, and hopefully...when it counts!"  
  
"YOU'RE certainly handling this better than your sister was," Tai observed.  
  
"Yep! I can be patient!" Sora said, turning cheerful again. "So what? My crest just turned out to be a late bloomer!"  
  
Yeah, Tai darkly thought. Unless...it's NOT a real crest...  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
"...d that all it meant was one just ONE more go! And the dude couldn't believe it! Whatta slacker!  
  
Matt chuckled to himself over the dinner table, at his little humorous story, while Sor just picked at her food, somewhat sadly.  
  
Her brain was going in and out of her cognizance of the situation at hand. She and her boyfriend, Matt, were out on a dinner date.  
  
"...oring you?" was the last bit of talk that entered Sor's ears and fully registered inside her head.  
  
"Wha...what?" went Sor, becoming more alert.  
  
"I asked if I was boring you?" Matt asked.  
  
"I...uh..." Sor began to say.  
  
"I mean, you've been almost demanding that we have a nice, peaceful dinner date for a while, and now that we're finally here, you zone out on me," Matt noted, not as annoyed as he should have been.  
  
"Oh...! I...I'm REALLY sorry, Matt!" Sor sputtered. "I...I have...o-other things on my mind."  
  
"Well, that much was obvious," Matt said, smiling at Sor.  
  
Reaching out to touch Sor's hand, Matt did his best to comfort her and reestablish the romantic setting.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said again. "You were really sweet to listen to me and take me out to this nice place for dinner...I'm also sorry that I'm not being better company."  
  
Sor tried her hardest to enjoy the rest of her dinner and did her best to talk with Matt and to try not think about Tai and Sora, but it wasn't easy. Matt, however, was a little more sympathetic and told her to freely speak her mind.  
  
"Matt?"  
  
"Yeah, Sor?"  
  
"Am I...different?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Do I seem...y'know...DIFFERENT?"  
  
"Nah..." Matt said, trying to sound comforting again. "You've always been the same..."  
  
Sor looked at Matt with a dubious look on her pretty face, similar to the way Sora did earlier.  
  
"Oh, come on, Matt...can you honestly look at me and say that?"  
  
Matt stared hard at Sor, and realized that one of the most important things in a relationship...was honesty.  
  
"Okay, Sor. The truth is that...you HAVE changed...a LOT."  
  
"How?" asked Sor, desperately wanting to know.  
  
"Well, let's see..." Matt said, preparing to vocally unleash the mental list that was being written.  
  
Sor nodded.  
  
"Well, you're older...you, uh...you're pretty popular in school, you get along much better with your parents than you used to...umm...you're more into wearing makeup, jewelry and dresses, you stopped playing soccer and switched over to tennis, you hang more with those girl 'groupies' of yours than the Digidestined, and..."  
  
Matt really didn't wish to point out the last part, but Sor asked him to be honest, and that's just what he was going to do.  
  
"And?" Sor pushed.  
  
"And, uh...jeez, this is hard to say..."  
  
Matt was forced to take a deep breath for finishing his sentence.  
  
"...AND...you're in love with me...and NOT...with Tai."  
  
Sor's eyes widened at this undeniable piece of truth.  
  
"I mean, let's face it, Sor...you and Tai had more compatibility than any two kids I've ever seen, and you've changed considerably. No offense, but I'm surprised that Tai still recognizes you. At times you seem like a completely different person."  
  
Maybe Matt's right, Sor thought. All signs having been pointing to this. Maybe the problem's not with Tai or my sister...maybe it's...me.  
  
"Thanks, Matt...you've really been a big help through all this," Sor said, smiling. "And I'm sorry again for being such a pain...to you and everyone else."  
  
"It's cool, Sor."  
  
"How do you put up with me?" Sora sighed, still smiling a little.  
  
Matt took a deep breath.  
  
"Believe me...it AIN'T easy, that's for sure..."  
  
The couple laughed a bit, and reached forward to kiss each other. But before they could say anything else...  
  
RRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!  
  
"One sec," Matt said as he reached for the cellular phone in the pocket of his coat that had been hanging on the chair he was sitting at.  
  
"Yeah, this is Matt," he said.  
  
Sora looked at Matt suspiciously as he talked over the phone.  
  
"Oh, hi! Yeah...no, no...Sor and I are just having some dinner...uh, huh...y- you did?...you what?...when?...and where di-...tomorrow?...around the morning?...you bet!...and what about...yes, but...everyone?...oh, right...okay, then...yeah, you can bet we'll be there!...okay, later...you, too! Bye!"  
  
"Who was that, Matt?" Sor asked. "That conversation sounded pretty serious."  
  
"More than you think, Sor. That was Izzy."  
  
"Oh? What did he have to say?"  
  
"Brace yourself, Sor...he had some pretty heavy news..."  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
RRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!  
  
Tai's thoughts were interrupted for the umpteenth time as he reached for the ringing telephone as quickly as he could, so as not to wake up his parents.  
  
"Kamiya residence," he said as he picked up the receiver.  
  
"Hello, Tai?! This is Izzy!"  
  
"Yeah? What's going on?"  
  
"I'm sorry to call you up this late, but what hafta say couldn't wait!"  
  
"You got my attention," Tai said casually.  
  
"Listen carefully...the energy signal I picked up in the Digital World is back, and this time it isn't fading. I'm going to round up the others, and schedule a 'visit' back to Etemon's old home. And make sure to bring along the 'other' Sora, as well."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because there's also a chance that the old computer's have files on it that can TRULY explain where Sora came from...well, THIS one I mean."  
  
"Ah...I see..." Tai said, taking a quick glance at Sora who had her back turned. "So you think that the signal is coming from the pyramid's computer?"  
  
"Possibly. Do you understand how crucial this is? This could be Sora's chance to have all of her questions answered."  
  
"Yeah, I got it," Tai said in a low voice, which turned into a mutter. "Maybe I can have MY questions answered, too."  
  
"What was that?" Izzy asked.  
  
"Nothing, just thinking out loud."  
  
"Anyway, when do you want us there?"  
  
"Tomorrow. Early. Make sure you tell Kari, too."  
  
"Oh, don't worry about that...I will."  
  
"Okay...anyway, I'll call you in the morning for the details."  
  
"Great...thanks, Izzy. G'night."  
  
"Goodnight, Tai."  
  
"Who was that, Tai?" Sora asked as Tai hung up the phone. "That conversation sounded serious."  
  
"More than you might think, Sora. That was Izzy."  
  
"Oh? What did he have to say?"  
  
"He wants us to join him to go back to Etemon's pyramid tomorrow. He said something about its computer, and its data files. It might have some info on where you actually came from."  
  
Sora's eyes narrowed until she was almost squinting.  
  
"Really..." she said, in a near-cold tone.  
  
"Really. And everyone else will be there."  
  
"I see..." Sora said as she turned away from Tai. Half of her mouth curled into a grin.  
  
"Yep...he wants us there, bright and early...or something like that."  
  
"Perfect," she whispered.  
  
"What was that?" Tai asked.  
  
Sora paused for a moment and then turned back to Tai with a cheerful look on her pretty face.  
  
"I said, that'll be perfect! Maybe I'll get to see Biyomon!"  
  
"Uh...yeah, maybe..." Tai said, scratching his head. "Excuse me for a sec...I gotta tell Kari."  
  
"Sure," Sora said, nodding.  
  
But as Tai turned to go, Sora grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards her. She closed her eyes as she smushed her lips against Tai's yet again.  
  
"Hey...don't be gone too long. Otherwise I'll hafta take my half of this sleepover someone else."  
  
"If you do, make sure it's not to wherever Matt is," Tai said, smiling now, too.  
  
"Never happen," Sora assured Tai. "Now go on."  
  
Tai smiled as he walked into his room (where Kari was) and closed the door behind him...  
  
...and Sora smiled to herself after the door was fully shut. Her eyes narrowed as she seemed to glare at the door that had been opened and closed by the boy who had just entered through it.  
  
"This little expedition may be more complicated than you think, Tai," she said quietly. "But then, you haven't always thought ahead the whole way, have you?"  
  
Sora took the crest from around her neck and looked at it with something enigmatic in mind.  
  
"Tomorrow may turn out to be quite a day."  
  
--------------------------------------------  
  
TO BE CONTINUED... (YEP, AGAIN)  
  
You have selected...Disclaimer!...not rated!...I'm sorry, there are no remaining showtimes for your selection! Please check again later! To find out what happens next chapter, please stay patient and keep reading! There is no information on the next segment either! Keep a lookout for another upcoming title called "Whose Liner Does NOT own Digimon"! (This title is not yet rated.) 


	14. A Sor Loser

You want the disclaimer! YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE DISCLAIMER!

(But you could probably handle the fact that I don't own Digimon.)

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**Second Chances For Sora - Chapter 14**

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Tai Kamiya yawned as he got out of bed. Another day, another adventure…THAT always seemed to be the theme every morning he woke up in the Digital World fours years ago. But as life would prove for him…just as much adventure could be discovered in the here and now…if you knew where to look.

But currently, the only adventure that Tai wished to conquer right now was that aching, annoying, rumbling sound within his stomach. He had always been really hungry every time he woke up in the morning, and he thought about what he should eat for breakfast.

All decision was canceled as his nose picked up the delicious scent of food being cooked. Quickly throwing on some clean clothes, Tai walked out of his bedroom and into the kitchen, where the smell was coming from.

He yawned once more and he rubbed his eyes, before glancing at what was occurring before him. Sora and Kari were standing at the stove, apparently cooking breakfast. Tai's girlfriend whipped her head around, sensing that her boyfriend was close by. Sora had a handkerchief tied over and around her head, and wore a pale green apron.

"Hey, sleepyhead! You're finally up!"

"Yeah…" Tai said before yawning again. "What's all this?"

Sora smiled sweetly at Tai before answering.

"Well, Kari and I thought that it would be nice if she and I made breakfast for you before we all we all head off for the Digital World today! Hope you don't mind."

"Ah, forgiven," Tai said shrugging, playfully patting Sora on the head.

"We made pancakes, bacon and eggs!" Kari exclaimed. "Sora taught me a lot about how to cook breakfast!"

"Wait a sec…I thought you said you couldn't cook! Were you lying?" Tai asked, crossing his arms.

"Okay, I admit…I do know a few things about cooking. I meant to say that I don't bake COOKIES! That's small time!" Sora said laughing.

"So when DID you get so good at this!"

"Hey, working for Digitamamon in his diner for over two years'll do something for your cooking skills. Just because I was stuck in the Digital World doesn't mean that I didn't learn a thing or six. Now…Tai?"

"Yeah?"

"Before you can sink your teeth into this fine feast, I need you to go wash your hands!"

"Oh, really?"

"Really! Now move that butt of yours! Go! Shoo, shoo!"

"All right, all right!" Tai said, laughing it off.

"Wow, Sora! You're really tough!" Kari said, smiling at how energetic Sora was.

"Nah, not really. I just like messing with your brother."

Kari laughed, but then quickly sighed happily.

"Y'know…it seems like forever since you've visited us a lot and hung out with Tai like this. I've really missed you, too. You've always been like the big sister I've never had, but always wanted."

"Thanks, Kari. While I was stuck in the Digital World for four years…I thought about a lot of things I missed in this world. But the place I missed the most…was here."

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hm, Mom and I were always at odds with each other back then, but Tai always let me crash here when I felt bad. And him, you and your parents made me feel like one of the family. Not a single day has passed where I don't think about it."

Kari had nothing to say, so she just nodded.

"By the way…I don't wanna bring up any bad feelings, but Tai told me last night that you recently went postal on my sister. Am I right?"

The younger girl's expression immediately turned cold.

…

"She deserved it," Kari spoke in an equally cold voice. "I hate her for what y-I mean, for what…SHE did to my bro."

"I couldn't agree more," Sora said with some iciness in her voice, as well.

"I was just so afraid that I'd lost my brother…forever…"

"It's okay, Kari. I think I understand. I'm just glad some part of Tai hadn't given up on me. Your brother means everything to me."

The two girls slowly began to smile as they hoped with all their hearts that good fortune was ahead.

"Y'know, it's kinda funny…you're saying both good and bad things about me. I'm not sure whether I should feel flattered or insulted."

"You should feel praised AND flattered. You and her are COMPLETELY different."

"Well, to an extent, at least," noted Sora, chucking a little. "I'd like to think that I'm pretty different from her."

"Hey…in my book, you're BETTER."

"Whoa, there's a new complement I've never heard."

Kari just continued to smile, and without warning she quickly threw her arms around Sora and closed her eyes tightly.

"Hey! E…easy, Kari."

"Sorry, I…it's just that I haven't seen my brother this happy in a long, LONG, time. Thanks to you, I finally have him back. I can't thank you enough."

"Seeing how happy you are is good enough for me. I know how protective you can get over your brother sometimes…and believe me, no one's more grateful than me that I'm still on your good side…!"

"Still…thank you all the same…for being there when it really counted," Kari said in a strange soft tone that Sora had never hear before.

Wow, Sora thought. This girl has SO grown up…

"Will you do me a favor?" Kari asked, letting go of Sora at last.

"Anything," Sora replied in a very firm voice. "Name it."

"This may seem like a silly request…but would you…"

"Would I what?"

"…be my…big sister again?"

Sora smiled a lot at this request. Growing up with Tai, Sora was sometimes forced to help Tai baby-sit Kari once in a while. At first Kari was too young to fully understand how she related to Tai, and simply thought she was her older sister, since she saw her so often.

But even when Kari grew a little older, Sora continued to be her "big sister", doing her best to look out for her and help her whenever possible. So every now and then Kari would sometimes call her "sister", an unofficial title which Sora found quite acceptable and appropriate.

Besides, that innocence in Kari's eyes was just too pure and cute to resist. But even so, Sora didn't even have to think for a millisecond before responding.

"Of course I will," Sora said softly, hugging Kari again.

Both girls let go when they heard Tai's clapping from not too far away. Sora shot Tai a wry look at him.

"VERY good performance, girls. I think that rates at least six different awards."

"Oh, be quiet!" Sora said as she playfully punched him in the arm. "Let's just sit down and stuff our faces."

And the three kids did just that, having a peaceful breakfast. They chatted about this and that, despite the fact that they were all going to venture into ol' Etemon's pyramid later that day.

Among the multiple topics of discussion, Kari mentioned something about how she'd make a "perfect" wife for Tai, being armed with such good cooking skills. Sora didn't have much to say about that and tried to hide her red cheeks from (anyone's) sight.

There was still some time left after they finished eating, so Kari made a quick run to the store while Tai and Sora cleared up the table and loaded their dishes and eating utensils into the dishwasher.

The two teens then plopped down on the couch, where they and hugged, kissed and cuddled for a few minutes. They then talked a little more about anything that came to mind, but Tai felt that he had to discuss the business with Etemon's pyramid before they left.

"Hey…Sora…are you nervous?"

"About what?'

"About…y'know…going back to Etemon's pyramid?"

"Not as much as I should be."

"Whaddya mean?"

"Well, Tai…I've lived there for the past nine months, in case you've forgotten. If I was ever afraid of the place, the fear has been gone and buried for a LONG time."

"Makes sense," Tai said, shrugging.

"One of things I miss is fighting alongside everyone else when we traveled the Digital World for the first time. Let's face it, I was only there for like…what, a little less than HALF of your adventures?"

"Something like that."

"But you know what? All in all, I'm sorta glad things turned out the way they did. Y'know, being trapped in the Digital World for four years."

"And why's that?"

"Because, silly…" Sora said, playfully elbowing him, "…if I hadn't existed, you and sis might have gotten together instead of you and ME!"

The two best friends laughed and lovingly hugged each other again. Tai's thought drifted into the "what might have been" category. What Sora had just said gave him real food for thought. He wasn't complaining that fate had dealt him a second chance to be happy together with Sora, but what about FIRST chances?

Who know what may have happened between Sora and himself from Christmas until now? Would Sora have ever broken up with Matt and followed her heart in in his direction? Tai could have gone all day thinking about what could've happened.

Still, a part of him would always love Sor, no matter how much she would hurt him, and whether it was accidental, or deliberate. And he was quite sure that Sor felt the same way. But as of right now, Tai was with Sora, who showered him with such love, care and passion which was so sweet that it could be tasted, giving off a wonderful flavor sweeter than any candy or cake.

"Y'know what else?" Sora asked happily.

"What?" said Tai, equally cheerful.

"I missed YOU most of all," she sighed, closing her eyes and rest her head against Tai's chest.

Tai smiled and closed his eyes, and put his arm around his loving girlfriend. He leaned his head towards the top of her head and smelled her hair. He then softly kissed it. They breathed gently, wishing they didn't have to go the Digital World today.

And Sor passed up THIS, they both thought to themselves at the same time.

As they continue their episode of restful bliss, Sora opened her eyes halfway and her smile became a little crooked.

--------------------------------------------

At the school where (some of) the Digidestined attended, Matt, Izzy, T.K. and Sor were waiting for the rest to arrive, albeit a little impatiently.

"They're late," Sor complained, as she grabbed Matt's arm, checking his watch.

"Whoa, watch that arm of mine," Matt joked. "I heard that you only get two per lifetime."

Matt and his brother T.K. looked at each other and laughed.

"Actually, they're not late at all," Izzy said, looking at his own watch. "If we go by MY clock, and they had engaged in some sort of relay race, they'd have approximately six minutes, and twenty-seven seconds."

Sor just rolled her eyes, while everyone else laughed. She didn't mean to be a stick in the mud, but after what her twin said to her the day before, she was put in a particularly bad mood. But she smiled a little as more of her friends showed up. Joe, Mimi, and Kari arrived on the scene, half-jogging.

"Sorry you guys had to wait!" Kari half-yelled, partially out of breath.

Mimi was behind Kari and moving at a slightly slower pace. She was usually careful about what she did, but all the same, she didn't notice the stone sticking out of the sidewalk, which she tripped over.

"Wh-AHH!"

"GOTCHA!" yelled a voice.

Mimi closed her eyes very tightly and clenched her fists, but suddenly she felt a pair of arms around her slim waist. She slowly opened her eyes, and saw Joe bent over, holding her just a few inches away from an unfortunate encounter with a concrete fate.

Soon she opened her cute little round eyes the whole way, but they soon widened and she became a little nervous as she realized that she was locking eyes with Joe, who stared back with a somewhat blank stare. He gulped, and she did the same.

After a few seconds, she felt her cheeks go very warm. Mimi knew all too well what this feeling was, and her eyes widened even more (if that was possible). Her cheeks turned pinkish-red, but not as much when she was around Matt. She felt a little more embarrassed as she saw Joe blushing quite a bit too.

"Umm…could…could you let go?" Mimi nervously asked.

"Uhh…s…sure," Joe said, and complied with her wishes, albeit a little slowly.

While the two of them said nothing about this little scene, Mimi had a hard time mentally acknowledging and admitting that…it really felt nice to be held by Joe. Mimi wasn't really sure whether or not this was a sign that she was getting ready to move on and forget about her prospects about getting romantically involved with Matt.

"S…sorry about th…th-that…" Joe stuttered, looking away a little and scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, uh…s…s…s'okay…" she said back, also stuttering.

Ooookay, she thought quickly. Let's think about this for a sec…me and Joe? Joe and ME? THIS is certainly awkward…!

"Hey, where's Tai and my sister?" Sor asked.

"Oh, they're back at the apartment, last I checked," Kari said, grinning and partially trying to rub Sor's nose in it.

"WHAT!" Sor almost yelled.

Kari started to chuckle, but still grinning and winking at Sor.

"Matt!" she quietly hissed. "I don't wanna spend any more time in that stupid pyramid than I have to! I'm gonna go over to Tai's place and-"

Matt saw that Sor had clenched her fists, and rolled up her sleeve, but he quickly grabbed her and stopped his girlfriend from doing anything drastic.

"Whoa, take it easy, Sor. I'm sure you have good reasons for what you're doing, but your actions are a LITTLE premature. Here they come now," Matt said, pointing.

Sor looked in the direction that her boyfriend was pointing, and saw that Tai and her double were indeed on their way. But every else stepped out of the way, as it seemed as if the two remaining Digidestined were running at lightning speed!

The two of them stopped short to catch their breaths, since their little competition was at an end.

"Ha!" Sora declared, short of breath. "Th…(pant, pant)…there! S…see! B…(huff, huff)…BEAT you!"

Tai laughed as best he could, given the fact that he too was short of breath.

"Y…yeah, right! You ch…(huff)…you cheated! And you KNOW you did!"

Everyone (except Sor) laughed a lot a that scene, making the atmosphere a little more cheerful.

"Great! Look's like everyone's here!" Matt said casually, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Wait a sec…" went Sora, snapping her fingers. "Where are those, um…y'know, those OTHER kids?"

"Oh, you mean Yolei, Davis, Ken and Cody?" Izzy asked. "They all went with their parents on a camping trip together as soon as the vacation hit."

Sora nodded, understanding.

"Well, enough talking!" Tai said, with a serious look on his face. "C'mon, let's go, everybody! The sooner we go back to Etemon's pyramid, the sooner we can put this whole thing behind us!"

Everyone nodded and smiled, even Sor. It was then that the Digidestined realized that for the first time in a while Tai was acting like their unofficial, but brave leader. They didn't say anything, but to a degree, they had all missed this usual behavior of Tai's.

They also noticed that for the first time in about fours years…the eight (or nine, depending on how you look at it) of them were off on another mission in the Digital World, this time working together again as a unified team.

But before they entered the school, Tai turned to his girlfriend with something amusing in mind. He bent over slightly and made a gesture that said "hop on".

"What's this?" Sora asked, putting one hand against her hip.

"C'mon, Sora! I'll give you a piggyback ride into the school!" Tai exclaimed.

"Why?" she asked, with a wry smile.

"Why not?"

"Good reason," Sora stated.

She wrapped her arms and legs around Tai from behind, who held onto her tightly. Tai was surprised how light she appeared to be. Sora playfully kissed him on the cheek, and giggled.

"Oh, get real, you two!" Sor scolded them. "We're going into a high school! Do you REALLY hafta act like children!"

"Gee, sis…who died and made YOU queen of the Fun Police?" Sora shot back, laughing.

Tai snickered a bit, as well. Sor may have been able to handle that, if her sister hadn't shined it on and stuck her tongue out at her, going "Nnnnn!"

Sor got a little steamed and turned away from the two of them, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth.

"Geez, can't they take anything seriously!" Sor started to complain.

"Sor, I think I know what's going on," Matt said calmly.

"What!"

Matt just smirked and said, "You're jealous."

Sor's eyes widened and of course, naturally tried to deny it at first.

"I most certainly am not!"

"Yes, you are. You're reeeally jealous," Matt said, strangely smiling.

"Ridiculous! Matt, that is the most ludicrous, stupid, dopey, crude…"

"Careful, Sor…you're running out of words…and they're getting smaller."

"But I…oh, Matt…who am I kidding! I AM jealous!"

Matt closed his eyes and nodded, understanding.

"I mean, it couldn't have been that long ago when that was ME! It was ME who was Tai's partner in crime, ME who was the only other person besides his sister who knew him better than anyone, and ME who was riding on his back!"

"I think I get it Sor. If nothing else…you want him back as your best friend, right?"

"Yeah…" Sora said, a little sadly. "…and what I miss most of all were the fun times we had together. But as long as SHE'S around…!"

"Sor, that's enough. Next chance you get, I want you to talk to Tai, apologize to him, and make up."

"You're right, Matt."

Sor smiled at her boyfriend and lightly kissed him.

Matt certainly was a great boyfriend when it counted. Sor was surprised that he wasn't sick of hearing about Tai this, and Tai that. But the truth was…Matt didn't mind one bit. He knew full well that, despite the distance Tai and his girlfriend had with each other right now, the truth was that…Tai knew Sor better than he did.

And even though Sor was Matt's girlfriend, Sor and Tai would always remain close friends, and share a very a special bond that only friends like them would have. Matt would never try to sabotage this, and just learned to live with it. But he was pleasantly surprised that it didn't bother him as much as it should have.

Meanwhile, Kari also saw what Tai and Sora were up to, and laughed at this. So she took a picture of Sora and her brother (in their piggyback position) with her trusty digital camera, which she almost always had with her. But then something clicked in her head that she needed to investigate.

"Hey…" Kari said to T.K., who was walking alongside her into the school.

"Hey what?" he asked, with a somewhat blank look on his face and in his eyes.

"How come you never offer ME a piggyback ride!" she half-seriously, half-jokingly asked.

"Yeah, bro…how COME?" Matt asked, joining in and grinning.

T.K.'s eyes widened and his head spun in different directions from all the funny looks he was getting from Tai, Matt, Sora, and ESPECIALLY Kari. At that moment he wished that could have shrunk to the size of a dust mote.

Although he and Kari had gotten together, he was still pretty new at being a boyfriend, and wasn't quite sure how to react to every new situation in a romantic relationship.

T.K. simply groaned and sheepishly pulled his white hat down over his eyes.

--------------------------------------------

Tai, Matt, Izzy, Kari, Sor, Joe, Mimi, T.K., and Sora casually entered the school, as it was open. Although the students were out on vacation, the staff was still there, and some extra-curricular activities were being held inside the school and outside on the school grounds.

Izzy peeked into the computer room and was relieved that there were no computer classes currently in progress. But before they could venture into the Digital realm, nature called. Mimi, Joe and T.K., and Kari ran off to the bathroom.

Tai slapped his hand over his eyes, causing Matt to laugh. Sor just stared at Tai, with mixed feelings inside her heart. Noticing that Matt was now chatting with Izzy about this and that, she figured that this would give her a couple minutes to talk with him, as that was something she missed…just being able to talk with him like old pals.

While everyone else seemed to be occupied, Sora looked into the computer room and saw one computer that was active. She quietly close the door, and carefully tiptoed to a computer monitor. Her eyes narrowed upon seeing the screen. Sora deftly reached down for her repaired digivice that was hooked on her belt loop.

Sora touched it with two of her fingers and flicked the digivice off the loop with enough strength to make it spin into the air. Her right hand automatically reached out and snatched it. Hardly displaying any emotion on her face, she slowly extended her hand towards the computer screen, still clutching the digivice.

The small screen on the device glowed, and a huge flash of light filled the room but only for a second. But within that second, she had vanished into the Digital World.

Outside the computer room, Sor nervously approached Tai, who was whistling to himself cheerfully and casually.

"Hey, Tai? You, uh…got a sec?" she asked in a timid voice equal to the one she used a couple days ago.

"Always, Sor…always," he said warmly.

Sor took Tai aside for a moment, and then she began to talk.

"Well, first…I'm sorry for being such a crab. My sister and I had an argument yesterday and she said a lot of…hurtful things to me…stuff that really made me think."

Sor felt even more ashamed that Tai was really taking the time to listen to her. He was looking at her, and paying close attention to her as best he could. As far as she was concerned, this was more than she deserved.

"I'm, sorry, Sor. I didn't know about this…if you want, I'll have a chat with her-"

But Sor quickly closed her eyes and shook her head. Tai smiled at how cute she always looked when she did stuff like that. But he became a little more concerned when he saw some tears escape.

"Hey, Sor?" Tai asked in almost a whisper.

"Yeah?" she asked, hastily wiping the tears away with her shirt sleeve.

"Um…are y-"

"HEY, GUYS!" yelled Izzy.

Tai nodded at Izzy's calling, and promised to talk about whatever Sor had to say after this mission of theirs was over.

"What's wrong, Izzy?" they both asked.

"I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, Sor…but your sister is missing."

"What?"

"Sorry, but she just disappeared without my knowing. I should have kept an eye on her…"

"It's not your fault, Izz…" Tai said, shaking his head. "Well, let's just find her first, then get to Etemon's headquarters!"

"Actually, Sora didn't go too far…well, so to speak," Izzy said.

"What do you mean?" asked Mimi, who had just returned from the bathroom with the others.

"It's reasonable to assume that she ventured into the Digital World by himself."

"But why would she go ahead of us?" Matt asked.

"Well, if she really did go back to Etemon's pyramid, then we'll run into her, right? And then we can ask her what's up," T.K. noted.

"That's probably a good idea," Matt agreed. "If there's anything in that pyramid that's causing trouble, then we need to shut it down!"

Everyone nodded, and within the next few minutes they too transported to the Digital World…and back to Etemon's pyramid.

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The concept and nature of evolution cause places and people to change their direction and growth, for better or for worse. But at the same time, there are small segments of life that either strive hard to stay the same or do the least amount of work just to remain unchanged.

And Etemon's gigantic, inverted pyramid stuck in the sandy desert of the Digital World fell well into that category. When the eight kids known as the Digidestined appeared there via television, they soon would agree.

"Boy…" said Sor, "Gives me the chills being around this horrid place. Let's make this visit the last one."

"Well, at least there isn't much wind chock full of sand, to get into our hair and shoes. At least I now know that even if I don't survive, my hair will be okay," Mimi half-joked.

Tai, Matt, T.K., and Kari shot Mimi weird looks, but their mouths curled into nervous smiles. But more laughing occurred among them to further lighten the mood.

The kids were a few sands dunes away from where the pyramid was. But being as big as it was, everyone could see part of it, even from far away. Sor was a nervous wreck.

"Tai, I don't know if I can do this," she whispered.

"Hey…c'mon, Sor…you're stronger than you think, and I KNOW that you can be stronger than what your showing me right now. It's just bad memories."

"Maybe you're right," Sor said, nodding.

"Besides," Tai partially joked, "Don't you feel somewhat obligated to visit the 'hospital' where your twin sister was born?"

Sor finally smiled and giggled a bit. She quickly tried (in vain) to hide it, though.

"Ha! Too late!" Tai said, pointing. "I saw it with my own eyes! You cracked a smile!"

"That was a mean trick, Tai…that doesn't count."

"Why not?"

"Because you're funny," Sora muttered, not being able to turn off that smile of hers easily.

Tai laughed again, and shot back, "What can I say? It's a gift."

Sor flashed a genuine warm smile for the first time in a while. Granted, she's smiled many times before, and they were honest smiles, but the difference was that THIS smile was really, truly meant for Tai…and Tai alone. She then closed her eyes for a second and took her friend's hand.

Tai got worried for a moment and looked at Matt in panic. Much to Tai's chagrin, Matt HAD seen the whole thing. Tai gulped, but Matt made some gestures to let him know that what Sor was doing was okay.

After breathing a sigh of relief, they all walked to the pyramid. Up close, it still looked as big as ever. Kari, who had NEVER been there before, pulled out her digital camera (again) and started moving fast around the pyramid, taking picture after picture. T.K. watched her as she did this and just smiled.

"Hey…wasn't there a door outside this pyramid the last time we were here?" Sor asked Izzy. "Or SOME sort of visible entrance?"

"There WAS...but if my memory serves me right, the very first time we came here-"

"One of the sides of the pyramid had a holographic wall, right?" Tai interrupted.

"Something like that, yeah," Izzy confirmed.

"So all we need to do now is find it again, right?" Matt asked.

"It shouldn't be that hard. But that's not what worries me," Izzy admitted.

"Then what is it?" Kari asked.

"What worries me most is that this entire place was almost completely deactivated when we came here not too long ago. It would have needed some sort of power source in order to even get the force fields and holographic walls to be active. Therefore, it's safe to assume that something or SOMEONE found an adequate enough power source and regenerated the pyramid's computer systems."

"Anything else you wanna report?" Sor asked.

"Why…yes, actually," Izzy said. "The energy signal that I detected before is still kicking. My laptop detected it directly inside the pyramid, but…now it seems as if the signal itself has stretched and has extended throughout the inside of the entire complex."

"Well, we'll worry about that later," T.K. said. "Right now, we need to find the entrance again!"

Tai felt a very bad feeling in his heart about what was going on, and had trouble breathing for a moment. There was a BIG thought going through his head, and Tai didn't like it at all. Because what he was thinking was IMPOSSIBLE…wasn't it?

Izzy eventually found the entrance and everyone entered the pyramid. They walked through many twists and turns, but it was hard to lose sight of where they were going. That's because since the pyramid's systems were back online, this also included the lights everywhere. When they had explored it before and discovered Sor's double, only a few lights were working, but just barely. Now, this place looked brand new.

Fortunately, Izzy remembered the layout of the building and found where Datamon's hidden chamber was.

As they entered, everyone felt a little worried and slightly scared. What struck them (especially Izzy) was that the room looked brand new. Granted the refrigerator, bed, and other various essentials that Sor's twin used were still there, but everything else seemed to be up and running. All the computers, lights, and knickknacks were functioning properly. It was if the pyramid had never been destroyed the first time around.

"This is REALLY freaking me out!" whined Mimi, lightly holding onto Joe's arm.

"Hey, what are you all doing here?" yelled a familiar voice.

Everyone turned their heads in surprise at who spoke.

"SORA!" they all hollered in unison.

"Whoa, lower the volume," she said calmly.

"Sora…it's you! We were worried about you!" Tai exclaimed, running up to her. He wanted to hug her, but…something was holding him back this time.

"Yeah, so why did you run away and go ahead without us?" Matt asked.

"Sorry, guys. But I was living here for a while before you all found me. I know more about this place than the rest of you probably ever will. So just felt that I had to check it out for myself, to make sure that it was safe."

"We understand, Sora. Just don't make me worry like that again," Tai said.

Sora closed her eyes and formally bowed.

"Pardon me…my apologies."

One of Tai's eyebrows raised a bit, as his mind wandered and wondered through uncharted territory, which he was extremely hesitant to map out. He took the girl aside to talk to her.

"Sora…" he said with worry in his voice, "…are you feeling okay!"

"What do you mean?" she asked eloquently.

"Well…I've been noticing that you've been acting kinda strange lately…and I wanted to know if you've been feeling all right. Because if there IS something wrong with you, I wanna know about it. Maybe I can help."

Sora paused, processed her current thoughts for a second, and responded truthfully.

"Believe me, Tai…if their were serious problems going about…I would let you know," Sora reassured him with a small smile.

Tai smiled too, but only a little. Something about Sora's smile seemed amiss. It looked…FORCED.

It wasn't the kind of forced smiles and positive gestures Tai always gave when he felt down, or when Sor rejected him last Christmas. This brand of smile seemed more like it was forced on her by someone else.

"Okay…" Tai said, doing his best to trust Sora.

The two of them rejoined everyone else, just as Izzy was finished tinkering with the pyramid's computer systems.

"Anything, Izzy?" T.K. asked.

"It's not much, but I do have something," Izzy replied.

"Whatcha got?" Sor asked.

"I have good news and bad news. The good news is, I've managed to use my laptop to partially connect with the pyramid's computer and downloaded as much information as possible onto my own."

"And the bad news?" she continued to ask.

"These information files are coded. And quite nicely, I might add. It could take forever to decipher the files."

"Anything else you can do?" Tai inquired.

"Well, there IS one more thing I managed to obtain," Izzy noted. "I've managed to unlock this one single file. It was a low-priority file, with near nonexistent coding. But whatever's in this file, it's still trying hard to fight back. However, my laptop is generating a de-coding system, which should decipher the information, but slowly.

"Will this tell us where my sister came from?" Sor inquired.

"I'm glad you asked, Sor."

"Why?"

Izzy took a deep breath before answering her.

"Because the file is named 'S.O.R.A.', and my laptop has uncovered that it's an acronym standing for…'Simulated Organism Replicated Artificially'."

Sor gulped, and Tai felt a very cold chill go up his spine. He glanced at Sora, who had a near blank look on her face. But her eyes were what Tai noticed the most. They had some sort of strange look….almost as if they were purely WATCHING everyone…studying them.

"Well, if that's the extent of our little tour here, we should just pack up and leave," Joe suggested.

"I'm with Joe, he's got a point. I don't think there's much else we can do here," Mimi agreed.

"Okay, we'll head for home just as soon as my laptop is finished copying all of the encrypted files from the pyramid's computer mainframe," Izzy stated.

Everyone nodded in response. Mimi then turned her attention to Joe once more and thought about the boy in front of her who was about two years older.

Boy this romance stuff is really complicated, she thought in partial frustration. After I cried it all out with Sora the other night, I think I'm finally starting to get over Matt. But THIS is something entirely different! This is JOE I'm thinking about here! This guy studies almost as much as Izzy, he doesn't hang out in the way I do, and he's never even shown much interesting girls for that matter…ah, maybe he's just shy…?

The girl looked at Joey from far away, and her heart filled with a little warmth, remembering how he decided to stay with her when she broke off from the group when they were traveling in the Digital World for the first time. Mimi smiled at the memory, knowing how sweet that was of him. At the same time, she really hoped that she wasn't turning boy crazy.

"Done yet, Izzy?" asked an impatient Sor.

"Don't rush him," Sora said in a plain tone. "To achieve exactly what you want takes time."

Sor got a little creeped out as she stared into her double's eyes, which looked nearly lifeless. She decided to back away a few steps and let Izzy do his work.

"That's it!" Izzy said. "I copied the entire database into my laptop! We can leave now!"

Sor exhaled and wiped some sweat off her forehead, while Izzy tapped on a few more buttons on his keyboard, and unplugged his laptop from a socket imbedded ni the pyramid's computer console.

"I'll have to stay up late again, if I want to decode this information. But I promise I'll find you the answers, Sora!"

Sor and Sora both heard what Izzy said, but Sora looked at Izzy with an emotionless expression still attached to her face.

"If that's what you want."

"Huh?" Izzy and Sor both said.

"Well, we better get a move on," Joe said. "If there really is somebody else hiding here, then I don't wanna wait around to find out who it is."

"Hey, bro…I'm kinda hungry," T.K. said. "What time is it?"

"Let's see…whoa, it's eleven already!" Matt asked , looking at his watch. "Well once we get back, let's grab some lunch!"

"YEAH!" most of the others yelled.

Everyone began chatting somewhat casually with each other as they prepared to leave. But Tai turned around, noticing that Sora wasn't following them.

"Hey, Sora…what are you waiting for? It's time to go!"

Tai felt very uncomfortable as he saw that Sora's eyes were hidden from sight. But he saw her lips, which slowly turned into an eerie grin.

"Leaving so soon, are you?" she whispered as she reached for the digivice attached to her belt loop…

"Sora?" Tai went, his eyes widening at her.

"Now that's weird…" Izzy said, glancing at his laptop, which was beeping.

"What's going on, Izzy?" Kari asked.

"Before we entered this place, I was detecting the energy signal flowing just about everywhere throughout the pyramid. But according to these readings…"

"Yeah?"

"The signal's in…this room…"

Sora pressed a small button on her digivice…

BOOM!

Everyone's heads shot up as they watched a giant slab fall into place of the arch they had walked through to get into the room they were in now.

"What the…?" Matt went.

Suddenly, a brilliant flash of white light filled the room, which originated from a huge computer screen that was connected to the console that Izzy had been copying data from. All that could be seen on the screen for the first five seconds was nothing but static.

But soon the picture cleared up to reveal some sort of mechanical creature with two long robotic arms, four extremely short robotic legs, and a cylinder-shaped body, with the top half of it covered in glass, and the bottom wrapped in metal. On of its eyes glowed yellow, and the other looked normal, peeking through a hole through the metal. Small teeth were seen sticking out of the metal, as well.

"GREETINGS, DIDGIDESTINED!" boomed a metallic, distorted voice through some hidden speaker.

"No, it's…DATAMON!" Sor yelled with obvious fear in her voice.

"Not quite!" said the image of the digimon. "Think of me as an interactive video, programmed to activate by a special backup system I designed a long time ago."

"What's this all about, you robotic freak?" Tai yelled.

"Oh, I think you know EXACTLY what this is about, you scummy little human! This is payback for everything you and your miserable friends did to me four years ago. Before you all came to rescue Sora, I quickly used my technology to create a special backup program that would preserve a small portion of my consciousness into these very machines. Even though you succeeded in destroying the pyramid, my regenerative program had already been copied and integrated into the computer system. Slowly but surely, I used my recuperative abilities to rebuild this place, yet I tried my best to keep my whereabouts hidden, patiently waiting for the day that the Digidestined would return! And that day is NOW!"

"Oh, yeah? Just you try it, you big metal meanie!" Mimi screeched, waving her fist in the air and spinning it furiously.

"Mimi! Didn't your mom ever tell you NOT to provoke psychotic robots that hold grudges against people who killed them!" Joe warned, holding Mimi back.

"Your threats are empty!" Tai hollered at the video screen. "You've been dead for over four years! Like there's anything you could do to hurt us!"

"Well…actually Tai, Datamon's proven that he's previously been able to compose an impressive lasting backup system, capable of elaborate verbal and visual interaction, as well as initiating a powerful trapping mechanism, sealing us in here…possibly indefinitely," Izzy calmly noted.

"Izzy, you're NOT helping!" Tai complained. "What's all that supposed to mean, anyway!"

"We're toast."

Tai squeezed his eyes closed and covered them with his hand.

"I'm just stating the obvious," Izzy said.

"I think Izzy may have something there, Tai," Matt said. "I seriously doubt that Datamon would've gone to all this trouble if he didn't have a plan in mind!"

"Well, look!" Tai said. "We may not have our digimon, but I doubt that there's much else that this guy can do! We can't allow ourselves to be spooked by some robot's video legacy!"

"Heh, heh, heh…AS IF ANY OF YOU HAD A CHOICE!"

Matt, Izzy, and Tai whirled their heads in the direction of the eerie laughter that was coming from behind them.

Sora.

"No…no…this can't be…" Tai said slowly to himself.

Everyone else watched Sora with a fair amount of intimidation. Sora's entire body was emitting a strange red aura, and her eyes had horizontally stretched out a bit, glowing an eerie red, and her hair had gotten all twisted and tangled. Her mouth displayed a twisted grin.

"So…Sora…?" Tai said he approached the entity he believed to be his girlfriend. "Are, um…are you o-"

"BACK!" Sora cried.

Tai watched in utter disbelief as Sora generated a sphere of red energy the size of a tennis ball and hurled at him as he got "too close". The sphere moved at lightning speed and struck Tai in the chest so hard, it sent him flying all the way back into a wall.

"TAI!" Kari shrieked as she watched her brother get hurt. Without thinking, she rushed over to her brother, but was stopped by the female who was no longer human.

"BACK OFF! OR YOU'RE NEXT!" she ordered.

"How could you DO this to my brother?" Kari screamed. "You heartless monster! My brother trusted you with his heart, and you had the nerve to trick him and lead him on!"

"I SAID BACK!"

"HEY!" hollered an angry T.K., rushing over to protect Kari. "You do NOT threaten my girlfriend like that!"

Kari blushed a bit, unable to remember T.K. ever making such a bold statement before.

"Foolish human…" Datamon hissed. "You're defiance is unacceptable! You must be disciplined properly! Dispose of him, Sora!"

"NO! Not T.K., too!" Kari yelled, starting to cry a bit.

"Don't worry, my dear…" Datamon continued. "Your friend will get off easy. It's your brother I'm after, since HE'S the one who destroyed me!"

Kari looked at her brother with tears in her eyes. Tai was still slumped against the wall. Although the energy blast from before left no visible trace, Tai had a hard time breathing, since he had the wind knocked out of him.

"But first things first!" Datamon declared.

Sora obeyed and laughed as she shot a glowing red stream of energy at T.K. who yelled in horror. The beam didn't hit him back, as with Tai, but instead wrapped around him like a living rope.

"Let go of my brother!" Matt shouted.

"You're in NO position to make threats!" Datamon harshly noted. "Observe!"

Sora looked up at a higher section of a nearby wall and her eyes glowed white. Everyone gasped as a medium sized, circular-shaped hole appeared. Everyone saw the sky outside of the hole, since it led outside the pyramid, and T.K. was going to be the first to go through it.

Kari and Matt screamed as Sora hurled T.K. through the hole as fast as she shot that energy sphere at Tai, who was still half-conscious.

"Now! The next order of business! Sora…make sure that the others enjoy their stay here!"

Sora cackled as she raised her hand towards Kari, who closed her eyes, bracing for impact, but no energy came out of Sora hand. Instead, she was sent hurling backwards, like it was some sort of telepathic power. She screamed again as she hit the other five Digidestined who fell over, and they too, were pushed backwards into the wall as well. Then Datamon began to speak again.

"Wonderful, isn't she? She's what I call "Simulated Organism Replicated Artificially", or "S.O.R.A." for short! I created her for one purpose…to DESTROY the Digidestined! She responds to every one of my commands, without hesitation or question! All it took one that one quick scan of Sora I did years ago to create an artificial replica of her and I knew that she would prove useful to me! Realizing how much of a connection Tai had to her, it was only too easy to make him take the bait! And the fact that I reeled the rest of you in was an added bonus which I humbly accept!"

S.O.R.A.'s eyes glowed yellow, and a pale yellow (transparent) cube appeared around them, trapping them in place.

"A force field!" yelled Izzy from within the cube.

"There's no way out!" Mimi hollered, banging on the barrier surrounding her.

"Not to mention we're stuffed in here like sardines!" Joe complained.

Sor had said nothing for the past few minutes, and continued to be silent, as she watched Tai, who had started to move again. Slowly raising his head, she could see that he definitely noticed what was happening. But the truth was…he didn't care.

At first, when he had his initial suspicions about Sora, he thought had gotten strong and experienced enough to handle whatever conclusion arose from his discoveries. But as it turned out…he wasn't even remotely close to being ready to handle this turn of events. Tai would never, EVER have possibly estimated or imagined how hard this situation would have hit him.

Tai's thoughts were no longer processing as fast they normally would. His mind was filled with images of the most recent events concerning Sor's double…and Sor somehow knew that she and him were thinking the same things.

Everything…EVERYTHING from the beginning had been a lie…and all Tai could think about was everything that he had shared with Sora…

--------------------------------------------

"…it could be worse…Sora and I still friends-"

"And you're completely okay with this?"

"…things are fine the way they are right now."

"I STILL have feelings for you…doesn't that count for something!"

--------------------------------------------

"…there is ONE thing that I know for sure hasn't changed…I can still whip you good in soccer."

"…care to test those words?"

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

"You're on!"

--------------------------------------------

"…will you go with me to see my mom and dad? I don't wanna be by myself…"

"Sora…you know that I'd do anything for you…you can always count on me, Sor. Never forget that."

"…just checking."

--------------------------------------------

"…you're my everything, Sora…we NEEDED each other."

"I agree."

"When we met for that first time…I knew deep in my heart…that I wanted to be with you forever…I NEED you, Sora. I love you, and I don't ever wanna lose you again."

--------------------------------------------

"…please…ha, ha, ha, ha…please stop!"

"Then admit it! I'm better than you at soccer! Otherwise the tickling continues!"

"Ha, ha, haaaa! C…c…c-c'mon…eh, hee, hee, hee! Cut it out!"

"Make me!"

"Ah, ha, ha, ha! Okay, I give, I GIVE! You're better at soccer than me, happy?"

--------------------------------------------

"What's this?"

"Umm…it's a hair clip…you, uh, you put in your hair."

"…it's kinda cute. I like it. So…how do I look?"

"You look beautiful."

"Aww…you're only saying that 'cuz it's true."

--------------------------------------------

"I finally realized…that I've been given a second chance to make things right, and to bring my life to a happy ending."

"You're wrong about that."

"Oh am I?"

"Yep. There won't be a happy ending for us…just a happy existence."

--------------------------------------------

"Yeah…" Tai groggily rasped, finally waking up out of his daze. "So much for that…"

Tai remembered how much it hurt (the first time) when Sor picked Matt over him. He felt as if all of the life had been sucked out of his body. But comparing that horrible memory to what was going on NOW…this was a thousand times worse.

"Tai! Get up, man!" Matt yelled, trying to give his friend some encouragement. "That…THING is coming towards you!"

"I don't get it!" Mimi said. "Why doesn't he move! Is he THAT paralyzed!"

"No," Sor replied, realizing what was truly happening. "It's not that he can't move…the problem is that he WON'T!"

"C'mon, bro! You just HAFTA snap out of it!" Kari cried.

Everyone gasped as they saw the look on Tai's face. His eyes looked so…empty and hollow. The light and life had left his pupils. He could barely hear anyone. It was as if someone had used some sort of remote to freeze him in place. His body - to a certain extent - was shutting down and giving up.

S.O.R.A. flashed Tai a demonic and grotesque smile. It grabbed Tai by the back of his T-shirt collar and dragged him to the center of the room.

Back inside the cube, everyone except Izzy was too preoccupied with the situation at hand to notice the faint sounds coming from their digivices. Hearing a beep coming from his digivice, he pulled it out of his pocket to examine it.

In the center of its small screen, there a were multiple red dots. These were the converging signals of everyone's digivice. But as he watched closer…he noticed something odd. Not too far away from the other signals he saw another one approaching in their direction. Someone else with a digivice was closing in on the pyramid's vicinity. Izzy was sure he knew who it was.

"T.K., if that's you…I certainly hope that you have something big planned to get us all outta this mess."

"Excellent!" Datamon hissed over the monitor. "That's it, S.O.R.A.! Leave him right in the center, so everyone can witness his death!"

S.O.R.A. evilly grinned as she raised her right arm which glowed and transformed into a glowing red long object, which strongly resembling a weapon that was used…to CUT.

"At last, I will have my REVENGE!" the being on the video screen cried.

"Well…I'll be seeing you, Tai," S.O.R.A. cackled, locking eyes with Tai, even though he still out of it. "It was fun."

Tai was down on his knees, looking into nothing. The only thing that was partially functioning was his ears.

What he heard was a mixture and blur of sounds that were as clear as mud. He heard a blend of noises, consisting of Datamon's "last will" barking orders, the Sora drone hissing at him, and (what was left of) the Digidestined calling out to him.

This was it. It was all over. He had lost his heart that was full of courage to fuel his will. He had nothing now. He didn't have his digimon there to protect himself. Sora was no more. T.K. was gone. But worst of all, no more opportunities.

At the last second, Tai's eyes decided to function again just in time to witness his own execution. As well as a long, sharp glowing red blade moving faster than anything he had ever seen towards his neck.

No more second chances.

--------------------------------------------

**THE END**

NOT!

Man, I wish I could see the faces of you readers after reading THIS chapter! Ha, ha! I kill myself! Now if any of you were expecting me to tell you ANYTHING about the next chapter, FORGET IT! If you want to know what happens, then I'd better see those see lovely reviews come in by the truckload! (Either that, or inject me with a needle full of some VERY potent truth serum!) Well, until next time, people!


	15. Lost and Found

Hey, y'all! It's me, Mister Disclaimer! That's right, I'm come back to resume my original duties as the world turns! With all my heart and passions, I've made a welcome return from another dimension after visiting my sick twin! Actually, he's my great, half-cousin in-law who was in the general hospital during the days of our lives! He was dying, and all my children visited him! They were young, and the restless patients in the other rooms were much more noisy and less behaved! After our visit we went out for some fun and bowled, and the beautiful scores I racked up were incredible! Some guide offered me some tips, since I wasn't as good as I thought. He tried guiding light, so as not to distract me. Anyway, I managed to do even better and my "teacher" offered me this tasty foreign wine called port...CHARLES! I remember now! THAT'S the dude who taught me!

Wait a sec...I'm truly sorry! I'm getting off subject here, and I must continue my duties, so here goes...

I...DON'T...OWN...DIGIMON!!!

HEY! I did it! I actually got my lines right for once! Hey, Whose! I didn't screw up this time! I really, really...aw, man! He's asleep! Now he'll never believe me! Oh, well...maybe next time! On with the story...

* * *

**Second Chances For Sora - Chapter 15**

In the vast and somewhat elegant realm known as the Digital World, things were ANYTHING but pleasant! Through the eyes of six kids who were part of a larger group known as the Digidestined, what they saw couldn't be happening!

Investigating the "ruins" of an old pyramid they made quite a number of incredible discoveries. To get the ball rolling, an old enemy of theirs, a robotic like creature known as Datamon, (whom they killed four years before) had created a "last will" or legacy left behind. This "will" was the last portion of his consciousness that he had pre-programmed into the pyramid's computer systems, which in turn, created a double of one of the Digidestined, Sora Takenouchi.

The "twin" tricked the Digidestined into returning to the pyramid, in order to trap them within. Afterwards, Datamon's "will" made itself known to the inhabitants of the complex, then used his powers to remotely activate the hidden abilities within Sora's double, gradually transforming her into a half-human, half-whatever being, with but one goal...to TERMINATE the Digidestined!

Unfortunately...Tai Kamiya, the Digidestined of Courage as well as the team's leader experienced extreme personal interaction with this artificial replica of his best friend, and suffered the consequences. The amount of emotional impairment and mental trauma that was delivered to him in spades was incredible.

Whenever the chips were down, all hope was lost, and every other available resource had been exhausted, Tai was always known to remain on his own two feet, standing tall and staying strong for everyone else. But due to this new dangerous dilemma, he had lost all hope for possibly the first time ever in his life.

Within a cube-shaped force field, the Digidestined did their absolute hardest to shouts encouragement, but nothing they did seem to reach him. His thought and will had retracted, and for the moment, Tai was far beyond reach. An uncanny emptiness permeated his entire being. If only there was someway to get past the mental barriers that his mind had unconsciously set, and jump start his usual fighting spirit...!

From the Digidestined's point of view, they watched in complete and utter shock as the individual acting as Tai's executioner ("codenamed" S.O.R.A.), swung her arm which had morphed into a sharp, blade-like weapon. Its target was not a preferred one, by popular demand, especially since it was Tai's neck. From the view screen where the last remaining piece of Datamon's mind was preserved, he watched this little dramatic scene play out with complete and undivided attention.

Since the "real" Datamon had been destroyed approximately four years ago, he was now incapable of achieving whatever lofty goals he originally had in mind, but at least he would thoroughly enjoy the pleasure of watching his foes fall and crumble under his wrath!

"Well...this certainly appears to be the end of the line for you, Digidestined!" Datamon said in a cruel, cold, robotic tone. "Now without any further ado, S.O.R.A., let's commence the demise of this inferior human being! I believe the medieval royal rulers said it best..."

Sor, Kari, Joe, Matt, Izzy, and Mimi all held their breaths, wondering what would happen next.

"...OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!"

The other six Digidestined shouted, yelled and hollered various things all at once, except Izzy, who kept on watching his digivice. Quickly doing a bunch of calculations in his head, he made a hypothesis about the oncoming lone signal from another digivice. He then took a look at the hole in the wall that S.O.R.A. has created a minute or two ago.

"Guys, brace yourselves!" he said, doing what he instructed.

"Huh?!" they all asked.

Tai wasn't sure whether or not things were moving in slow motion, or if he was hallucinating...but at the moment from when S.O.R.A. began to swing her blade-like arm, the most amazing thing happened. The light began to return to his lifeless eyes, as he heard a small voice in his head that sounded like...Sora.

"Hang in there."

Suddenly, his eyes widened partially at the influence of the strange voice. Still seeing everything in slow motion, he bent his head out of harm's way just in the nick of time! Tai's head was facing upward, so his eyes caught a good glimpse of the glowing red cutting weapon that was originally meant to cut off his head, and instead, nicked a few of his "wild" hair strands that didn't make it.

S.O.R.A. watched in amazement as he did a lopsided cartwheel to the left, while she completed her full swinging cut to Tai's right.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" yelled an enraged Datamon.

Everyone cheered loudly from inside the cube, as Tai put a fair amount of distance between him and S.O.R.A. Now bent over on one knee, he breathed in and out very heavily, due to the acrobatic stunt he just pulled, and also because he just realized the full extent of the amount of danger he was truly in.

"BAH!" the creature on the video monitor hollered. "Nice little trick, Tai! But you're still in imminent danger!"

S.O.R.A. didn't seem very happy either about Tai's escape from death, and her now-ugly face got even more horrific as her nasty-looking expression got even nastier.

"AHHHH!!!" she yelled as she raised her sword-arm up high as she prepared to slam it down on Tai and cut him in half!

Tai clenched his eyes shut as he was fresh out of ideas on how to proceed, since his first dodging of the blade was purely out of instinct. But that's when the REALLY amazing thing occurred. And it came in a heavy voice from seemingly nowhere...

"METEOR WING!!!"

"Huh?!" everyone yelled.

Tai, S.O.R.A., Datamon, and the other six kids trapped in the cube watched without blinking once as another miracle hit the scene.

"No way..." Tai whispered to himself.

Upon the screech from before, a shower of gigantic fireballs shot down into the room they were in through the hole in the wall at terrific speed. Some of them struck S.O.R.A. and she dodged the rest of them, not wanting to get hit any more than she could avoid.

The hole in the wall got even bigger as more fireballs plummeted into the side of the pyramid, leaving a MUCH bigger hole in the wall, which was now nearly demolished, with not much left.

Tai dropped on both knees again as he received his second big shock for the day.

In the distance but closing in fast was a orange bird with large wings that looked like they were on fire as they continuously flapped. It was a Birdramon! And not just ANY Birdramon. Upon closer inspection, Tai could see someone hanging to one of the legs...

There was no mistaking the individual for someone else. Those crimson eyes, the short, curved auburn hair, the yellow t-shirt, the blue jeans, the dark gray sneakers, the red watch...and the unforgettable hair pin clipped onto the side of the person's head.

"SORA?!?" Tai and his other six friends yelled nearly at the top of their lungs.

"TAI!!!" Sora yelled in equally loud voice from far away.

Tai's eyes froze in place again, but this time for the better, hopefully.

"N...no way..." Kari said, more surprised than she'd ever been before. "THREE Soras?!"

Once Birdramon was close enough to the ground, Sora let go and jumped to the ground and landed safely on the ground. Upon sight of what was going on, Sora ran over to where Tai was and locked eyes with him.

"Tai, are you okay?! TAI!" she yelled, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him.

"S-So...Sora...are...but...I mean...I thought you...you...you and her..."

"Well, you can clearly see that I'm not her!" Sora said with a half-smile.

A single tear trickled down Tai's cold cheek, and he reached out with one of his hands to gently feel and slowly stroke Sora's cheek. It was warm, as were the thoughts and feeling inside Tai that were starting to regain their flame and potency.

"You...you're real...!" he said, eyes widening for the millionth time.

"Of course I am!" Sora said, starting to cry a little herself.

A tear of her own slipped out of her eye and brushed Tai's index finger, still touching her cheek. Tai said nothing but nodded as his mouth curled into a small, and half-sad smile.

"Who else would I be?" Sora asked.

"Sora..." Tai whispered. But he started audibly crying, as Sora hugged him tightly. Tai held onto Sora just as firmly.

"I'm here..." she whispered back. "...and I promise that I won't leave you...ever!"

Still trapped inside the cube with the others, Sor felt a small pang of jealousy and sadness rush through her system once more. But she smiled, glad at the fact and truth presented in front of her that visually dazzled everyone...her twin, her double, her counterpart...her SISTER...was real.

"How...how did you...WHERE...did you..." Tai asked.

More than a dozen questions were bubbling inside Tai's mind, eagerly aching to get out and await their answers. But for now, he would have to contend with the present situation at hand.

"We'll talk about it later...by right now, we have a few baddies to put away for good! Are you with me?"

"I...I dunno if I can do this..."

Unbeknownst to Sora, Tai's heart was still healing from just what took place a few moments ago. Datamon's scheme really did a number on Tai's feelings, even when that menace operated from beyond the grave.

Little did anyone else know that here and now...for the first time in years...in the Digital World...Sora Takenouchi and Tai Kamiya would fight alongside each other side by side...the way it was meant to be and WILL be from here on out...

...now and FOREVER!

"Don't worry, Tai. I KNOW you can do this!"

"Are you sure?"

"Well, hey...you don't just hafta take my word for it...I brought along some help!"

"Huh?"

Tai's smile grew a little more as he saw someone run towards him through the remains of where the pyramid's wall was. A little yellow-colored dinosaur-like digimon with big eyes, and an even bigger heart to match. Augumon!

"Augumon! Hey there, buddy!" Tai exclaimed with growing glee in his voice.

"Tai! It's good to see you again!" he said in his high-pitched voice. "Sora told me that there might be trouble brewing...and it looks like she was right! So I'm here to help you in any way that I can!"

Tai brushed away his tears and hugged Augumon tightly.

Datamon and S.O.R.A. hadn't said much, flabbergasted at these turn of events. Not only did Tai escape S.O.R.A.'s attack, but...

"...the REAL double of Sora has intervened?!" Datamon yelled. "This is UNACCEPTABLE!!!"

"Yeek!" Mimi squealed, covering her ears. "Isn't there a volume control on that stupid computer somewhere!?"

Apparently, sound was able to transmit through just as loudly as it did outside of the force-field cube that the other Digidestined were still trapped in.

"So, it's true..." Tai said to the image of Datamon on the monitor. "...S.O.R.A. wasn't really who I thought she was!"

"Sad to say, it's all true!" Datamon confirmed. "I lied about that scan of Sora I conducted four years ago. But I DID scan her, while she was living here for nine months! By that time she made this pyramid her home, I had already reconstructed my consciousness and had secretly spread my mind into the systems inside this complex! While she slept, I made scans of her and took small blood samples that were nearly impossible to detect!"

"You used me, TOO!" Sora yelled.

"Quite so, my dear! And with that, I created S.O.R.A.! But since you've decided to make an unscheduled and unexpected appearance, S.O.R.A. has partly lived out her usefulness! More's the pity...yet I still retain the knowledge that you shall all perish very soon!"

"Not if we can help it!" Tai noted, indicating Augumon's abilities.

The digivice in Tai's hand began to beep continuously and he held it out in Augumon's direction. The small screen on it began to emit a bright pale-bluish light.

"Augumon...DIGIVOLVE!" Tai yelled.

The entire body of Tai's digimon partner began to glow until only the silhouette could be seen. Then the silhouette started to grow taller and bigger until it was about the size of the gigantic hole that Birdramon had made. Tai heard Augumon's voice which gradually grew deeper, but louder.

"Augumon digivolve to...GREYMON!!!"

The Digidestined cheered as the digital monster standing before them was enormous. Augumon's body was much bigger, and his skin turned orange with blue stripes on it. The top of his head was now covered with some sort of thick, brown, facial covering with a horn on it. Augumon had digivolved into the powerful Greymon!

"Ready, to fight, Greymon?" Tai yelled.

"Always, Tai!" Greymon declared.

"Then fight with THIS!" S.O.R.A. snarled, jumping unusually high and swinging her sword-arm at Greymon.

The blade glowed red again, and shot out a sphere-shaped energy blast at the massive digimon. But Greymon was ready and countered by fighting fire with fire...

"NOVA BLAST!!!" Greymon roared.

A humongous fireball erupted from Greymon's mouth, and made contact with the energy blast that S.O.R.A. fired. But her attack couldn't even begin to compare with the power that this champion-level digimon possessed.

Greymon's fireball practically swallowed up S.O.R.A's attack and kept on heading towards her.

S.O.R.A. held up her sword-arm, and tried to block the attack, but the fireball hit dead on, and although S.O.R.A. was still standing, her arm had reverted back to its original state, despite being singed and burned. Birdramon was not about to be left out of this important fight, so she gave S.O.R.A. a little extra something to worry about.

"METEOR WING!!!" Birdramon cried, flapping her fiery wings once more.

Another hailstorm of fireballs entered the room. S.O.R.A. didn't have a chance to escape in time and the flame engulfed her whole. Everyone squinted their eyes from the flame and covered their ears as they heard shrieks and screams coming from the replica of Sora's double.

S.O.R.A. closed her eyes and collapsed to the floor, lifeless.

Tai and Sora opened their eyes and saw that it was over.

"BLAST!" yelled Datamon from the video screen. "You think that this is the end of it, Digidestined?! I've barely even begun to play!! I'M GOING TO-"

"HEY! You keep quiet for a bit!" Greymon roared.

The giant digimon smashed his elbow into the monitor and literally stepped on the computer consoles that were powering the monitor. Datamon's image instantly dissolved, as did the cube that surrounded the rest of the Digidestined.

"We're free!" Izzy cheered.

"What was your first clue?!" Matt happily and sarcastically said.

"Fresh air at last!" Mimi chirped, stretching her arms.

Tai and Sora hugged each other tightly again. They weren't smiling, but that didn't mean that their scarred hearts weren't filled with relief.

"Thank goodness that you're okay!" Sora sweetly whimpered.

Tai closed his eyes tightly and began to cry again before.

"Sora...I started to think that I lost you again...! I didn't know what to believe when..."

"That WASN'T me," Sora firmly established.

Sora cupped Tai's face and stared at him straight in the eyes.

"Tai...we've been best friends since we were five years old. In all time we spent together...have I ever REALLY lied to you?"

Tai thought hard for a moment to think.

"Guess not...I mean...I can't say that I remember..."

"I've NEVER lied to you before, Tai...and I'm not lying now."

Sora, still holding Tai's face in her soft hands, smiled as she slowly closed her eyes and sweetly kissed him. Now free from the cube-shaped prison, Kari grinned at the couple as she snapped a couple more pictures with her digital camera.

Everyone happily regrouped with each other and looked over the smoldering body that was Datamon's Simulated Organism, Replicated Artificially. It was covered in smoke, rubble, debris, and dirt. Despite there being not much left of the Sora-replica to look at, Kari couldn't resist taking at least one snapshot of the horrid thing that attacked them so fiercely.

"So, Sora..."asked Tai with his arm around his girlfriend. "Tell me...what happened after you split off from us."

"Oh, yeah..." Sora, said, scratching her head. "Well, I felt that going back to the pyramid might turn out bad, but since so many people ran off to the bathroom, I just went ahead to the Digital World, to get Biyomon and Augumon. After our picnic the other day, I secretly told the two of them to hang around the area just in case we needed their help."

"Looks like you were correct," Izzy noted.

"Hey...if that's all that was going on, then why didn't you just tell me?" Tai asked.

"Tai, I wasn't sure whether or not I was right. And I didn't want to arouse any suspicion or stir up any unneeded panic."

"Is that really all that you've been up to? I mean, maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I thought you were acting pretty weird for a while there..."

"Was I? Hmm...well, I guess I'm just weird, then!" Sora cheerfully replied.

Everyone laughed a lot at this but Matt quickly stopped when he remembered something he had to ask Sora about.

"Sora! What about T.K.!?" Matt asked in a panic. "That Sora-mutant-thingy tossed him into orbit! Did you see him!?"

Sora smiled, acknowledging how sweet it was that Matt was still (partially) looking out for his "little" brother, even after all these years. Fortunately, Sora had good news about T.K.'s whereabouts.

"Not to worry, Matt! Actually, T.K. should be-"

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh..."

Everyone's hair stood on end, as an eerie and regrettably familiar cackle filled the atmosphere. The Digidestined turned around as they watched in amazement as Datamon's creation, S.O.R.A., actually got up and moved towards them!

"No way!" Sora yelled.

S.O.R.A. spoke to the Digidestined, but now her voice was distorted and mechanical, almost if someone had combined their voice with hers.

"You're all much bigger fools than I thought if you truly believed that I could be defeated so easily!" she said.

"Datamon's back...AGAIN?!" Joe panicked.

"What's going on?!" Matt asked.

"Oh, I'll tell you...the last of my consciousness was originally incapable of taking a physical form, since I was trapped inside the pyramid's computer systems! But on an impulse, I used the last remaining systems that were functioning to transmit myself into the body of S.O.R.A., my own creation. Since she never truly had a mind of her own, it was more than simple to take it over!"

"Like that matters!" Tai retorted. "Greymon and Birdramon burned up that replicated body so badly that it couldn't possibly do any harm to anyone!"

"Wrong again, young one!" Datamon snapped. "While I created S.O.R.A., I implanted several backup systems and tactical programs into her makeup that makes her built to last for a very LONG time! Watch and learn!"

S.O.R.A.'s body began to glow white, and the Digidestined were forced to shield there eyes from the light.

"Something's happening!" Kari yelled.

"Something's ALWAYS happening in this world!" Joe complained.

The joined being that was composed of S.O.R.A's body and Datamon's mind grew much larger and taller, nearly equal to the size of Greymon! The flesh of the humanoid arms ripped off and revealed long, robotic limbs, similar to Datamon's. Her left eye glowed yellow, and some of her teeth transformed into long fangs. Her auburn hair grew a bit longer as well and stuck out in various directions. The rest of the simulated flesh became all pale and the veins could be seen from underneath the skin. The feet that were covered by sneakers ripped off as well, and revealed bigger, sturdier metal feet. Sora began speaking to Tai, but neither of them could tear their eyes off the incredible transformation that was taking place before them.

From the Digidestined's perspective, their chances of victory looked bleak.

"Guess you lose the prize for having the wildest hair now...huh, Tai?" Sora asked.

"For some reason, Sora...I don't think I mind," Tai said.

"EVERYBODY MOVE!" Izzy hollered.

The Digidestined did just that, as Datamon in his new body attempted repeatedly to literally stomp his feet down on the eight kids!

"AHHH!!!" Mimi screamed as Datamon headed in her direction.

"Look out!" Joe yelled as he pushed Mimi to the ground, managing to move both of them out of harm's way.

"Th...thank you, Joe...you saved me!" Mimi exclaimed with a couple tears in her eyes.

Joe was about to say something along the lines of "it was nothing", but Mimi inadvertenly silenced him when she got to knees and grabbed her friend, hugging him tightly and burying her cute face in his chest. Joe got a little concerned when he felt Mimi shaking.

"Mimi...are you, uh-"

"I was so scared! Thank goodness you were there to protect me!"

Joe rolled his eyes a little, not quite believing what was happening to him. Matt saw and believed it thoroughly, briefly grinning and giving Joe a "thumb's up" sign.

Back on the battlefield, things were only getting worse, as Datamon persisted in his rampage.

"Greymon!" Tai yelled. "A little help here, please?!"

"You too, Birdramon!" Sora shouted.

Greymon grabbed Datamon's arms and did his best to hold his adversary in place. Birdramon flew high into the air and served the enemy another helping of her famous flaming meteors. Birdramon flapped her wings and did just that, but at the last second Datamon wrestled Greymon to the ground and hurled him into harm's way instead! Greymon was pelted with the hot meteor shower instead and fell over in pain.

Birdramon tried attacking again and flew into Datamon's direction at top speed, hoping to ram into him directly. But Datamon, being as smart as he was, accurately calculated Birdramon's flight path and the exact time it would be right for him to interrupt. As she approached him, he grabbed her beak very tightly and threw her into Greymon, who has just gotten back up.

Datamon's arms grew even longer, shooting out and punching both of the champion-level digimon in their stomachs hard.

Greymon was down, but certainly not out! Summoning up as much strength as he could, he fired yet another Nova Blast attack at Datamon. This time it hit and Datamon was sent back with some recoil and fell over. Tai's digimon pal quickly got up and locked hands with Datamon, and the two of them wrestled each other. Greymon hoped that this would give Birdramon enough time to get up and attack again.

Unfortunately, this was easier said than done. Her interaction with Datamon took more out of her than she thought. Birdramon could barely move, much less get up. Sora ran over to her fallen digimon partner and shouted words of encouragement.

"C'mon, Birdramon! Get up! You can do it!" Sora yelled at the giant bird creature.

"Don't worry, Sora...I won't let you and your friends down..." Birdramon struggled.

"Sora!" Izzy yelled, running over to her. "You've gotta make Birdramon digivolve further into her 'Ultimate' form! That goes for you too, Tai!"

"Say WHAT?!" asked a disbelieving Sora. "How do I do that?!"

"It's not something you really 'do'..." Sor said walking over to her twin, "...it's more a matter of something you feel. Believe me, I know."

"Well...I'm not sure if I can do this, either..."Tai said. "And besides...we lost the power of our crests..."

"Look, you've both known your digimon for a long time..." Matt said, "...that means that only YOU two know how to bring the full power of your digimon out!"

"Just look inside your heart and find the way," Mimi gently added.

Sora and Tai looked at each other. Tai then refocused his attention back on the action, watching Greymon fight for everyone's safety. Then Kari ran over to her brother to put his mind and concentration in its place.

"Guess Datamon's little 'prank' has you a little more rattled than you'd like to admit, huh?" she asked, taking Tai aside.

"Whaddya mean, Kari?" Tai asked with a worried look.

"Tai, you've never good at lying or hiding things from people. At least not from me. I think one of the big factors in digivolving is the emotional connection to your digimon."

"Huh...but..."

"Datamon's mind game was terrible, no one's denying that. But it's already made you emotionally detached from the current situation at hand."

"That's not true...!"

"Yes, it is. You just don't realize it."

"After Sor turned you down, you lost something. It was your courage. And Greymon won't be able to digivolve ever again if you can't reclaim it."

Tai had no response, because Kari was right. Even after Sora was discovered and brought much joy to Tai's life, there was still quite a big hole left in his heart. And there was but one person to blame...

"That's all my fault," said a voice.

The two Kamiya children turned their heads and saw Sor walking towards them with a sad, but serious look on her face.

"Excuse me?" Tai asked.

"I said that it's all my fault, Tai. I guess I hurt you a lot more than I thought. And it's also my fault that all this is happening now."

"Well, it's not TOTALLY your fault...like I said, we all lost the power of our crests a while back..." Tai said, trying to make Sor feel a little better.

"Still, that doesn't mean that there isn't another way to get Greymon to digivolve!" Kari noted.

Tai thought hard about what was going on. And it was clear that Greymon would need to be a lot stronger if he wanted to prevail. But with the exception of Sora, everyone had given up the power of their crests to help further preserve the Digital World. If only there was some way to give Greymon more power...!

"Tai! I think I may have something!" Izzy yelled.

"Whatcha got?" Tai asked.

"I used my laptop and managed to decode one of Datamon's most guarded computer files. Apparently, he had some sort of nearly unlimited power source, which he named 'Consumption Of Unlimited Replenishing Artificial Gauging Energy'...do you understand what I'm saying?"

Tai shook his head, causing Izzy to sigh.

"Tai, this file was top secret! It's a lengthy file about Datamon's REAL source of power, and partially explains why the pyramid was rebuilt so precisely, and just why Datamon has so much strength! Now follow me, my computer is detecting a potential energy source that might help Greymon win this fight!"

Izzy told Tai to follow him back into the pyramid, and led him back to the smashed computer consoles.

"Tai, help me move this console away from the wall! And let's be quick about it!"

"Okay...and why are we doing this again?" Tai groaned as he pushed the heavy machinery.

"Because once Datamon finds out what we're up to, he'll come after US! And if that weren't enough, Tai...think again about the first letter of every word from the name of the file I deciphered!"

"So?"

"SO? Tai, think about it! The first letters of the words spell out COURAGE!"

"But I still don't get it!" Tai said as he pushed the console away far enough.

"You'll see in in a moment! Okay, now...my laptop detected the signal that came from within this wall!"

"Izzy, there's nothing here but stone and-"

FWASH!!!

The cracks between the stone slabs that made up the wall began to glow a bright orange!

"NO!!!" Datamon cried from afar, realizing what the two kids were up to. "Get away from there!!!"

Panicking, he pushed Greymon aside hard, causing him to fall over. Still merged with S.O.R.A., he ran as fast as his new body could carry him to the pyramid.

Some of the stone slabs on the wall crumbled to reveal another thin slab underneath them, with a strange symbol on it. It was a giant circle, with two smaller ones inside it, and eight tiny triangles surrounding the outside of it, pointing in eight different directions.

"No way...this is...the Crest of Courage?!" Tai said, completely flabbergasted.

"Don't ask me how it got here. But somehow, your crest was...reborn inside the walls of this pyramid!" Izzy confirmed.

"Then..." Tai said, as everything was becoming clear to him now, "...that must mean..."

Something clicked inside Tai's mind, as he reached out with his hand and walked towards the glowing orange symbol engraved in the wall.

"Step back from that crest!" Datamon yelled, as he drew closer.

But Tai kept on moving forward and the moment his hand touched the stone, everything changed. The bright flash of orange light grew even brighter and blinded everyone for a moment. As the flash dissipated, the light retreated into a strange tiny rectangular shape, floating in front of Tai. And the symbol had transferred from the wall to the glowing rectangular object, still emtting orange light.

"Tai, look!" Izzy exclaimed, pointing at Tai's neck.

Tai looked downwards and saw a thin string of light around his neck. As that light faded, a white thread appeared in its place, connected to a gold-colored pendant at the bottom, with a small, clear, glass-like window in its center.

"No way!" Sor yelled.

"It's his tag!" Mimi announced.

"Forget the tag...his crest is back!" Kari said.

Tai looked in front of him, and indeed his crest WAS back. It moved of its own accord towards him and slipped perfectly into place inside the glass-like setting with a soft "click".

The crest within the tag glowed once more and faded again.

"Izzy, you were right! It is my crest!" Tai happily cried.

Datamon stopped in his tracks upon realization of what just happened.

"And I want it back!" Datamon shouted.

"I'm afraid you got things backwards!" Tai yelled. "You took this crest from ME! And Greymon and I are gonna show you how to REALLY use it!"

Datamon scoffed at this, but he knew that he was partially bluffing as he watched Tai's orange crest begin to glow brightly once more...and Datamon knew precisely what this meant...

* * *

While this events unexpected turn of events was playing out, Sora broke off from the others, took a deep breath, and walked over to Birdramon. She kneeled down where her hurt partner was and stroked her fur.

"Please, Birdramon...I know you have what takes to win! Datamon manipulated Tai...he used me...and WE have to stop him now!"

"Are...you sure that...I can...do it, Sora?" Birdramon groaned.

"I've always been sure about you."

"But...it hurts...and I'm not the original Birdramon from before..."

"Look, maybe I'm the real Sora, or maybe I'm just another fake like that replica back there...and I know you're not the same digimon partner I first started out with...but that doesn't make you and me any less real NOW, does it!?"

"Well...maybe..."

"When I realized that I was trapped in the Digital World, a huge portion of me shut down, and I gradually began to lose faith that I might never get home, that I might never see the others again. But when I came to the Primary Village and met you, it all changed. Some real happiness was brought back into my life! You joined me in my travels, and you refused to leave me, no matter what! At first I thought that you were just being stubborn, but that's when I realized the truth. You weren't staying with me just out of obligation, or stubbornness, or for fear of being lonely or abandoned...it was because you were my truest friend in the Digital World...and you loved me."

"Th...thank you, Sora. I won't...disappoint you..."

"I realize now that you brought back into my life what was lost when I found that I was stuck here for four long years...my power of love for others...and for myself."

"Do you...care for me as much as...the others?"

Sora had a few joyful tears in her eyes, and walked towards her fallen friend, hugging her softly.

"Of course I do..." Sora said, letting a few more tears slip out. "...I love you."

Suddenly a faint red glow emitted from under her yellow shirt. Sora pulled her tag out from under her shirt collar and firmly fixed her gaze on the red crest with the strange heart-shaped symbol on it. Sora's Crest of Love began to glow as brightly as Tai's Crest of Courage.

"Sora...your crest is glowing, too!" Mimi noted excitedly.

Sora nodded, with determination in her eyes. She and Tai looked at their hurt digimon and then at each other. It was clear by then what they had to do...

"Greymon..."

"Birdramon..."

"DIGIVOLVE!" they both yelled in unison.

Immediately Tai and Sora's digivices vibrated and beeped loudly, and turned orange and red, respectively. A strong, steady beam of light erupted from the devices' screens and struck their crests. The beams of light became even brighter as they exited the crests, and struck their digimon, increasing their strength.

Bathing in the stream of energy that recharged their bodies, Sora stared in amazement as the two digimon on the battlefield digivolved again. Sor smiled at her sister's look of surprise. She realized that this was Sora's first time to witness something like this.

Greymon immediately got up and cybernetic machinery that resembled some kind of armor appeared over his chest and face. His left arm was then covered by a metal gauntlet, with long sharp metallic claws, and purple wing-like objects riddled with holes sprung from his back, like the petals of a blooming flower.

"Greymon digivolve to...METALGREYMON!!! GRAAAWL!!!"

Birdramon also got up and Sora watched intently as she witnessed Birdramon digivolve for the first time.

She greatly grew in height and her body shape became more humanoid, growing long arms and giant strong fists, while most of her body deepened into a dark red color. A mask-like object appeared over the digimon's face, similar to Greymon's, but this one was red with a blue pattern on it, a white feather sticking out of its top, and long golden hair streaming out of the back. Thick white fur covered the neck, with white stripes on her wrists and thighs to match.

"Birdramon digivolve to...GARUDAMON!!!"

Partially due to the amount of power that had been infused within their bodies, the two digimon roared in loud voices that could have shook mountains apart.

"Sora, I can feel your love...it's making me strong!" Garudamon said in proud, deep voice.

And you're not the only one who feels it, Tai thought.

"AWESOME!" Sora screeched with glee.

"I'll protect you, Sora!" Garudamon added.

Tai smiled a lot as he saw the look on Sora's face. To say that she was happy would have been a major understatement. The smile that was stuck to her face was one of the biggest he had ever seen, her eyes were wide open, not daring for a moment to close, and her fists were clenched tightly in excitement.

"GO GET 'EM!!" Sora and Tai cheered, realizing that this fight was now in the bag.

Not that Datamon no longer had an infinite energy supply to replenish himself with, his strength was extremely limited. At that moment, his mind partially snapped. It no longer mattered if he did not survive. his enemies must suffer and be eradicated...by ANY means!

Datamon went berserk and lunged himself at his foes. But Tai's digimon, now powered up to its "Ultimate" level, was more than ready to take him on.

"GIGA BLASTER!!!" MetalGreymon roared.

Small openings on MetalGreymon's chest plating fire long sleek missile-like projectiles at Datamon. They exploded on contact with the enemy, knocking Datamon onto the ground. Then MetalGreymon grabbed his adversary by his barely functioning robotic arms and hurled him into the air, like a rag doll.

Garudamon flew up into the air past Datamon, at faster speeds and higher altitude than she ever could have imagined in her "Champion" level. Now she was in perfect position to attack, as well.

"WING BLADE!!!" Garudamon cried, as her entire gigantic body became engulfed in flame.

Everyone saw Sora's digimon in action, and they couldn't have been more pleased with what transpired. The flame-infused digimon morphed into a creature resembling a phoenix and flew straight into Datamon, who had been tossed into the air by MetalGreymon.

Garudamon landed gently, but Datamon didn't fare nearly as well, seeing as how he crashed landed into the ground, partially on fire. Though severely injured, Datamon screamed once more as he took one last giant leap in an effort to kill the one human who was solely responsible for his demise...Tai!

Tai closed his eyes and braced for impact, but that when yet another great surprise registered in his mind. Only a few meters from reaching Datamon, time seemed to freeze. Everyone gasped as Datamon dropped to the ground in pain. Writhing on the ground in pain, everyone stared as they saw a long staff that had impaled Datamon (from behind) straight through the torso.

But what really caught everyone's attention even more was where the staff came from.

All eyes aimed upwards in the sky, where a huge digimon was flying in their direction. It was a gigantic humanoid creature with huge wings, ribbons, boots, bracelets, and a huge metal helmet completely covering the top half of its face. And there was a human riding on his back, holding on tight.

"It's Angemon!" Sora said happily. "Long time no see!"

"And if he's here..." Tai said, "...then that means..."

"T.K.!!!" Kari exclaimed with tear-filled eyes. "He's all right!"

"Guys!" T.K. yelled from up high, "Hope you don't mind...I brought along some reinforcements!"

The heavenly Angemon flew towards the Digidestined as fast as possible, and went low enough for T.K. to jump off and land safely on the ground. Then he flew towards Datamon, pulled his staff out of the weakened digimon, and used it like a golf club, hitting him hard across the ground with it.

"Hey, little guy!" Tai cheered. "You made it after all!"

"But how-" Joe began to ask.

"After S.O.R.A. tossed me out of the pyramid, I started whizzing into the air. That's when Sora and Birdramon caught me. We quickly exchanged stories and she left me near the Digiport to go get Patamon to help. So I ran home as fast as I could and brought him here. I'm just glad we weren't too late!"

"And good going, too!" Sora said, congratulating him on his luck.

"Wasted...efforts..." Datamon groaned. "Time...to...kill you ALL!"

"And it's time for me to end this!" Angemon said, in a strong, courageous voice.

Angemon flew even higher into the air. From where he was now, he had a clear view of the digimon-human hybrid that the others had fought against. He drew his right fist back, as if to throw a punch.

"HAND OF FATE!" Angemon cried.

The fist began to glow bright orange, and immediately he punched forward, and a tremendous ray of orange light shot out towards the battle field. The Digidestined were forced to cover their eyes (for the umpteenth time) from the bright light of Angemon's attack.

Datamon was struck by Angemon's attack, and was left with barely any sign of life showing.

"You da MON!" Tai and Sora cheered at the same time.

Everyone else soon joined in, cheering in excitement and relief, seeing that T.K. was okay. That is, except for Matt who ran towards him.

"T.K., THANK GOODNESS YOU'RE OKAY!" Matt cried as he grabbed his brother, giving his little brother a big bear hug.

"Matt...I'm glad...to see you...but let go...I can't...breathe...!" T.K. managed to say.

T.K.'s older brother laughed a little and let go. But just as T.K. began to catch his breath again...Kari ran over to hug her boyfriend even harder than Matt had.

"OH, T.K.! I'M SO HAPPY YOU'RE ALIVE!" Kari practically screamed as she started kissing him repeatedly.

"What th...NOT YOU, TOO!" T.K. complained, but the younger Kamiya child hardly cared about T.K.'s ranting as she continued to kiss his face nonstop.

Sora, Mimi, Matt, Tai and Sor started hooting and cheering as Kari persisted in her passionate display of affection. Izzy and Joe just snickered a bit.

"Uhh..." went T.K. as he saw everyone laughing.

Still...Kari was being attractive in her own way. Her innocence, cuteness and purity were not qualities to be taken lightly and could easily melt a boy's heart.

T.K. began to groan as he became mildly embarrassed from Kari's actions and once again pulled his hat down over his eyes.

It seemed as all was safe in the sector of the Digital World where the kids were. But Izzy turned his head when he heard a groan. His eyes nearly popped out when he saw Datamon (still fused with S.O.R.A.'s body) struggling to get up.

"Oh, not again!" Joe complained.

"This is bad..." Izzy stated. "As long as that regenerative program is infused within his consciousness, there's always a chance that he'll survive."

"Then we have to dispose of him...to the point where there's nothing left!" Tai suggested.

"Actually, I had another idea..." T.K. said, indicating his digimon partner with his thumb.

"Ah, I see..." Matt said with a sly nod.

"Listen up, everybody..." T.K. instructed. "...pull out your digivices! Angemon can take care of the rest!"

The nine Digidestined got in a circle position and pulled out their digivices. Angemon flew above them, waiting to T.K.'s idea to play out, hoping that his plan would work.

"What's going on?" Sora whispered to Tai and Kari. "If the rest of you lost your crests, then there's no way for Angemon TO digivolve! And even if you managed to pull it off, WHAT would Angemon digivolve into!?"

"Heh...you'll see," Tai said, lightly chuckling.

"Remember...I said that there was more than one way for digimon to digivolve..." Kari noted.

Holding their arms out, and clutching their digivices firmly, the Digidestined concentrated with all their hearts and minds. That's when the nine digivices began to glow. Thin streams of white light shot out of Mimi, T.K., Kari, Matt, Izzy, Joe, and Sor's digivices and struck Angemon, who now looked as if he was getting stronger. Although engulfed in the light, he could still be seen.

Bright red and orange light emitted from Sora's and Tai's crests and digivices, which were still vibrating and beeping. Once those two additional lights hit Angemon, they could only see his silhouette.

Sora glanced at T.K., who looked more determined than anyone else. Wow, she thought. He's really grown, too...just like Kari. They really ARE made for each other...!

"Angemon...DIGIVOLVE!" T.K. hollered.

T.K.'s digivice turned yellow and started to vibrate, too. Everyone kept their eyes locked in the sky, and watched as Angemon's silhouette began to grow bigger. Once more, a bright flash of yellow light filled the area and dissipated just as quickly. Sora's ears tweaked a little when she heard a booming voice from up above.

"Angemon digivolve to...MAGNAANGEMON!!!"

Sora's eyes widened and she gasped when she saw what emerged. T.K.'s digimon partner was still standing proudly in the sky, but he looked very different. Additional long wings had sprouted from the digimon's back. His white body suit had long yellow sashes across the chest, a purple gauntlet covered his left arm, a matching purple helmet appeared over his head, and gray, metallic boots covered his feet.

"Wow! Patamon, you've really grown! Who knew the little guy had it in him?!" Sora exclaimed with glee.

"Looks aren't everything..." T.K. noted with pride. "He's also got the necessary strength to back up his grand appearance! Show him whatcha got, MagnaAngemon!"

The Ultimate-level digimon looked down at his human friend and nodded. He slowly moved in the air and flew over and above where Datamon was, still alive, but barely functioning. MagnaAngemon began a declaration, deciding Datamon's fate.

"Datamon...you've disrupted enough innocent lives already! There's no place in the Digital World that's suitable enough to control and contain your malicious influences! Therefore, you shall be punished! Your consciousness will be banished to another place...where you shall NEVER return!"

"Impossible...!" Datamon hissed.

"The beginning of your demise shall commence HERE!"

MagnaAngemon raised a long purple blade-like tool connected to a gauntlet on his right hand and waved it in a circular motion. The white outline of a circle appeared where the digimon had waved his tool, and suddenly an image of a closed, sealed gate appeared within the circle.

"What is he doing?!" asked a very curious Sora.

"Sending Datamon to another dimension...where he'll never hurt anyone again!" T.K. said angrily.

"GATE OF DESTINY!!!" MagnaAngemon roared.

With those words, the portal T.K.'s digimon had created opened up, and some great force - a vacuum like no other - was gradually pulling Datamon inside it!

"Datamon..." T.K.'s digimon pal said, "...it's over! We've BEATEN you!"

The humanoid-digimon hybrid did its best to hold on, but it was far too late. Datamon's robotic arms stretched out as far as they could. He sunk his metal claws into the sand, desperate to hold on and remain in this realm, but his resistance was utterly futile.

That wasn't all...everyone gasped as the remains of the pyramid was being sucked in as well!

Piece by piece, every little and last bit of the stone complex that had served as Etemon's immense headquarters, Datamon's secret laboratory, and Sora's makeshift home was being pulled along.

"I...WILL...NOT...GO!!!" Datamon screamed as he was being dragged by the unconquerable current.

But Datamon used the last of his strength and extended one of his arms to its maximum extension and reached out for Tai's neck!

Tai yelled in horror, but just before Datamon's robotic fingers could even brush the tiniest hairs on his neck, a huge chunk of stone debris from the pyramid struck him in the face and caused him to lose his grip on the ground. Now being pulled in by the Gate of Destiny's typhoon, and pushed in by the hunk of stone that hit him, his demise was imminent.

Tai, Sora, Izzy, Mimi, T.K., Sor, Kari, Joe, and Matt watched in anger, determination and complete satisfaction as a tremendous current pulled Datamon into the vortex MagnaAngemon opened up. The Digidestined didn't even bother to cover their eyes from everything that was happening, as they didn't want to miss a single second of this.

The last thing Datamon saw was the confident expressions firmly fixed to the faces of the Digidestined. He couldn't...and wouldn't believe it! But it was really over...it was true...he had LOST!

The untouchable, underestimated, and unbelievable unified strength of Courage, Love, Friendship, Knowledge, Sincerity, Reliability, Hope, and Light had prevailed against all odds! Evil today had received a incalculably strengthened strike from the forces of Good, which had persevered like never before!

"NOOOOO!!!!!" he screeched.

CLACK!!!

The Gate of Destiny shut its doors tightly after Datamon and the entire inverted pyramid had been consumed by the vortex, which immediately disappeared into thin air.

The nine kids who had witnessed the entire scene stood together as a team for the first time in a while. After a moment they all looked at each other, and their eyes widened at the realization of the truth. They quickly jumped for joy and cheered at the top of their lungs due to the fact that they had won!

"We did it!" Mimi yelled in happiness.

Almost acting on instinct she jumped into Joe's arms, which shot out of reflex, catching her slender body. Mimi's eyes shot open and bugged out, realizing what she just did. She nervously looked at Joe and locked eyes with him, blushing slightly. But the two of them paused and started laughing.

The three Ultimate-level digimon - MetalGreymon, Garudamon, and MagnaAngemon - looked at each other as well, and nodded. Their bodies started to glow and they de-digivolved back into their "In-Training" forms, Koromon, Yokomon, and Tokomon. Their human friends ran over to them and picked them up, since they were no bigger than heads. Actually, that's pretty much ALL they were reduced to after expending so much vast amounts of strength and energy.

"Koromon! You okay, buddy?" Tai asked, holding up the pale-pinkish colored head-like creature.

The little digimon shook his head (and long rabbit-like ears,) and coughed.

"Yuck...I think...that I ate...some sand...when I fell to the ground..."

The kids laughed, knowing that everyone - humans and digimon alike - were okay. Kari ran over to T.K., who held the small white Tokomon in his arms. Both of the kids softly pet the digimon's head.

"Good job, Tokomon...you were great!" T.K. said in a warm, caring voice.

"So were you, T.K.!" Kari added. "And I promise I'll forget about the piggyback thing as long as you promise to be more careful from now on!"

T.K. chuckled, closed his eyes, smiled, and nodded at Kari's words.

Meanwhile Sora held up her digimon, the "In-Training" Yokomon. Sora looked at her closely, not having seen her digimon in this form in a long time.

"Yokomon...how are you feeling?" she gently asked.

The round, small pinkish digimon with blue-leaves for hair stared at Sora with her round green eyes and sighed in relief.

"Is...everyone...okay? I mean...did I do okay, Sora?" she half-timidly asked.

"You did an excellent job, Yokomon!" Sora congratulated her friend, and lovingly hugging her. "I'm very proud of you!"

Yokomon closed her eyes and flashed a wide smile.

"Well, I for one couldn't be happier that this mess is all wrapped up!" she said with relief.

"It's true..." Tai agreed. "The legacy of Datamon is finally over! I think we really defeated him for good this time!"

"And we did it all as a team!" Sora noted.

"Some team," Sor semi-muttered. "We almost lost!"

"But we didn't!" Kari countered. "But the truth is...we've all been too busy with our own lives."

"Kari's right," T.K. said. "Sometimes it feels like we've only been getting together simply because we're all Digidestined! But we're more than that!"

"Very true!" Mimi chirped. "When you really get down it...we're also friends!"

"Yeah, we need to make changes in our lives to REALLY stick together and be there for each other when it counts! Inside AND outside of the Digital World!" Joe replied.

"Due to our elaborate and conflicting schedules, I calculated that our success rate decreased because we've been behaving differently!" Izzy continued.

"Without the strength of our unity, we're weaker! And that last fight proved it!" Matt announced.

"But look at us now..." Sora stated. "Once we started believing in our combined efforts and put our hearts into our abilities, that's when we turned the tables. And look!"

Sora pointed to Tai as he held up his newly retrieved Crest of Courage.

"We all lost a small part of ourselves over time! But being involved in that fight pushed me to reclaim my courage! And I got it back in spades!" Tai exclaimed.

"You couldn't be more right, Tai!" Izzy said, smiling.

"Maybe we'll all get our crests back someday!" Kari suggested.

"I hope so, too!" Mimi cheerfully squeaked. "That piece of jewelry could go well with my dresses! Although my green crest was a bit tacky!"

The other eight Digidestined (as well as the three digimon pals) stared at Mimi blankly, then broke into near-uncontrollable giggles, chuckles, and snickers. And for the next few minutes...the warm, infectious unification of genuine laughter filled the atmosphere.

* * *

**TO BE CONCLUDED...**

Well, I certainly hope that you were all totally and pleasantly psyched about this new turn of events! Looks like the road seems pretty smooth for everyone from here on out, huh? PLEASE send in your reviews about what you think! Our people are standing by, waiting for your calls! Ha, ha! Just kidding!

Anyway, tell me what you thought! Bet you people didn't expect this chapter to play out the way it did, huh? Did I fool you? Whatever the reason, I'm glad that you all hung tough and lasted this far! But it's not over yet! There's still at LEAST one more chapter to go! And after that, I have a small announcement to make!

So, I'm outta here! Didja hear that, Mr. Disclaimer...oh, geez...he's sleeping on the job AGAIN! Man, you see what I put up with? Oh, well...ciao for now!


	16. Plans & Promises

**Author's Note: **This is it, people! The LAST chapter of a story I worked so hard on...the conclusion to "Second Chances For Sora"! I greatly appreciate support you've given me! I can't thank you enough for reading and granting me more feedback than I ever thought possible! It is now time to present to you the final installment of this story, and the fate that awaits the double of Sora Takenouchi! So sit tight (or cut loose, whatever you prefer,) and by all means…ENJOY!

(If you thought that was heavy, check out the Mr. Disclaimer! He actually believes that he's possessed…!)

**Mr. Disclaimer: **THERE IS NO DISCLAIMER…only ZOOL.

**

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PREVIOUSLY…

The Digidestined's strange adventures reached a new level when they discovered the existence of an exact double of their friend, Sora Takenouchi. She immediately thereafter got the chance to reintroduce herself into the real world. She reconciled with her old friends, her parents, began a romantic relationship with her childhood friend, Tai Kamiya, and even joined a soccer team. Beckoned back to the pyramid, the last of Datamon's surviving consciousness attacked them! Tai managed to get his Crest of Courage back, and alongside Sora's Crest of Love, they fought once more as a team again. This act of unity gave their digimon partners the strength to finally destroy Datamon for good! Now that the worst is over, Sora must decide what she wants to do with her life…

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Second Chances For Sora - Chapter 16

"Okay, kids! Get your backpacks and grab your lunch! Your ride will be here any moment!"

Two small kids, about maybe nine and eleven years of age, ran out of the house. They were followed by their wonderful, loving mother, Sora. She kissed them goodbye and shooed them into their neighbor's car.

"I can't thank you enough for driving my kids to school for the week. We've been having problems with our car," Sora noted.

"I understand, Sora," said the female driver, who was also driving her kids to school. "You don't need to worry. I'll be available to drive your kids for as long as you need."

"Thanks a lot," added a male voice. "We really appreciate it."

Sora smiled, recognizing the voice all too well. She turned around to face her husband, Tai Kamiya, who wrapped his arms around his wife's waist and continued to talk.

"Listen, if there's anything we can do to repay you…"

"Forget it! My pleasure!" replied the driver.

"Bye, Mommy!" hollered the couple's daughter from within the car.

"Later, Dad!" yelled their son cheerfully.

"You two behave in school!" Tai said as he grinned, reaching in through the open car window, and ruffling up the hair of his kids.

"Have a good day, sweetie!" Sora added happily.

"Boy, I bet those two are still as passionate with each other as when they first met…no wonder they have such happy and lively children," their neighbor quietly noted.

Partially envious, she took one last look at the happily married couple before driving off.

Tai and Sora still held onto each other like white on rice, as they waved to their children, watching the car drive out of sight. Sora then took Tai's hand and the two walked back into their house.

"So…" Sora began to say as they made there way into the living room, "…why don't you sit yourself down on the couch?"

"And?" Tai asked, still wrapping his arms around his wife, not wanting let go at all.

Sora hesitated to talk as Tai pulled her down onto the couch, holding her in his arms and lap.

"…and…" Sora said, twitching a little as Tai began lightly kissing her neck, "…I'll make us some tea."

"Will you now?"

"Well, I won't be able to if you keep kissing me!" she said, squealing and cutely giggling.

"And what's wrong with that?" he asked, still tickling her neck with kisses.

"C'mon! Let go!" she said, now fully laughing. "We have all day to spend with each other since the kids will be going over to a friend's house after school! I think you can spare me a couple minutes just to make some tea!"

"Oh, all right…" he sighed, finally letting go of his wife, whom he had known for most of his life since they were kids. "Just don't keep this husband waiting too long…or else I'm coming into that kitchen after ya!"

Tai started getting up off the couch to follow her anyway, but Sora immediately turned around and pointed him.

"STAY!" she half-yelled.

Tai began to whimper like a puppy, and Sora just laughed at his antics. As much as Sora had been resisting him a few seconds ago, she was just as hot for him as he was for her. A lot of parents were either envious or jealous of them, still acting like newlyweds. Sora and Tai had been married for a few years, and were both very happy and healthy. But most of all…they were quite content with the hand life had dealt them.

Sora began think about such matters as well, while pouring some water in a kettle and placing it in the stovetop to heat it.

In the recent years, Tai had achieved his dream to become a successful and professional soccer player. It was heaven for him competing against other teams from everywhere, but strangely enough, he always found someway to squeeze in enough time for his kids, and his wife. This was not to suggest that Sora was out of work herself. She had become a respected soccer coach for various female soccer teams, and worked a few days a week as a physical education teacher for an elementary and high school class at a nearby school.

Whether or not Sora had the potential to go pro as well (thought Tai told her repeatedly that she did), she didn't seem to mind, one way or another.

Sora loved the kind of work that she did a lot, and was just as dedicated to her job as Tai was to his. At the same time, Sora tried hard not to mentally compare the quality and quantity of her own job(s) to her twin sister's. Sor had gotten married to Matt and became a famous fashion designer. Although Sora wasn't jealous of her sister, she was amazed to discover that Sor had taken up a job that seemed so…girlish.

Well, that's how it seemed in her opinion, anyway.

But she did have one "advantage" over her twin sister. She was married to the most loving, caring, wonderful, humorous, and (just) fun husband in the entire whole, wide world. And Sora knew well that to a degree, Sor had always been pretty envious of how her sister and her husband weren't running out of steam in their relationship. At least, it didn't look like they would be anytime soon.

"Sora!" Tai yelled from the living room, breaking Sora out of her train of thought.

"Yeah?" she hollered back.

"Someone's here to see you!"

"Coming!"

Sora walked rather fast out of the kitchen, and back into the living room to see no one there but her husband, casually sitting on the couch with his legs crossed.

Tai smiled as Sora stared at him with a blank look in her eyes.

"Wh…what the…? I don't see anyone! Tai, you said that someone was here!"

"There is!"

"Who?"

Tai just grinned and extended out his arms, "presenting" himself. Sora's eyes grew wide and she slowly pointed at him, with questions bubbling in her mind.

"Me!"

Sora eyes narrowed and she shot Tai wry smile.

"Very funny."

"Hey, I wasn't lying. There WAS someone in the room waiting for you…a lonely husband who needs a gorgeous wife by his side. So, you got any 'spare' wives around here?"

Sora quickly looked right and left.

"Well, uh…there's only me-"

"You'll do!" Tai quickly declared, grabbing Sora by her waist and pulling her onto the couch.

Sora giggled and lied down on the couch with Tai's head in her lap. She stared at her love and sighed.

"Y'know…I'm so glad that we got together," Sora sweetly murmured.

"I agree," Tai said, almost whispering. "Being childhood friends, you and I have been through as lot of ups and downs, and gone through thick and thin…"

"…all that was left was to just fall in love and let nature takes its course," Sora finished.

"You make it sound like it was something easy," Tai noted.

"Well…" Sora said, briefly sitting up, "…maybe we did have a little trouble in the beginning, but I think it was worth the wait."

"I love you so much, Sora."

"And I love you just as much, Tai."

The two happy lovers smiled and Sora leaned in and lightly kissed Tai's nose, causing him to chuckle. Then Tai's expression turned a little more serious, and he wrapped one of his hands around Sora's face and pulled her in for a very long, lasting, passionate kiss.

Sora closed her eyes and thoroughly enjoyed their shared embraced. Every kiss they gave each other better than the last, if that was possible. As their lips let go Sora and Tai stared into each other's eyes and continued to smile. Sora sighed as she laid herself back down into Tai's lap.

"Hey, Sora…" Tai said as Sora closed her eyes.

"Mmmmm…hey, what?" she asked, feeling quite comfortable.

Sora was half-hanging onto Tai's words throughout the entire conversation, but what he said next made no sense whatsoever.

"It's time to wake up."

Her eyes shot open and Sora got back up and locked eyes with Tai, making sure she heard right.

"What…did you say?" she carefully asked.

"Sora, c'mon!" Tai said, grabbing his wife by the shoulders and shaking her back and forth.

What Tai was doing didn't hurt, but Sora was more confused than ever right now. Especially since his lower adult voice had reverted back to a somewhat higher tone…that of a teenager.

"It's time! You gotta wake up!"

"Tai, WHAT are you talking about?"

But Tai wouldn't hand over one shred of information as to explain his behavior. He just kept shaking Sora, and saying over and over-

"Sora, come on! It's time now! Wake up! You gotta-"

* * *

"-wake up!"

Sora eyes slowly fluttered open and she looked into the eyes of her boyfriend, Tai. She also became partially aware that she was back at Mimi's apartment, on her couch where she had fallen asleep a little while ago. Sora could also hear the voice of Mimi, who was in the kitchen, talking (or maybe gossiping) on the phone.

"Hey, Sora…c'mon, beautiful! Time to wake up!" Tai said, gently shaking Sora out of her state of unconsciousness.

"T…Tai?" she asked, in a half-raspy voice.

Sora opened her eyes all the way and saw Tai kneeling at her side. He gently kissed her cheek. Sora stretched her arms and yawned quite loudly.

"Hey…are the kids home yet?" Sora asked, still partially out of it.

"Whose kids?"

"Heh…ours of course, silly," she goofily grinned.

Tai just stared at Sora with his mouth hanging open.

"Sora, are you feeling okay?"

"Never better. Refresh my memory…how long have we been married again?"

"Uh, since NEVER."

"Wha-?"

"Sora…I think…you've been…DREAMING!" Tai announced into Sora's ears, raising his voice a little.

That was enough to wake fully Sora out of her daze.

"Ah! Watch that volume, Tai!" Sora exclaimed, covering her ears.

"Ha! THAT woke you up!"

"I'm sorry…I must have nodded off."

"S'okay…anyway, sounds like quite a dream you were having there."

Sora quickly thought back and remembered everything that had played out in her unconscious mind. Her marriage to Tai, their house, their kids...the works. Tai watched as his girlfriend took his hands in hers. He thought the dream may have been a little embarrassing, since Sora's cheeks had turned red.

"Yeah…I dreamed that…we were married, and had two wonderful kids. We had a nice home…"

"Tell me I became a successful, filthy rich soccer player! PLEASE say it happened!" Tai almost begged.

"Take it easy…you DID make it as a pro soccer player," Sora assured him, laughing.

"Yes!" Tai gleefully hissed, causing Sora to laugh a bit more.

"Anyway, we had just sent our kids off to school, and we had the whole day to spend time with each other…and you couldn't keep your hands off of me."

"Sounds like me," Tai said, smirking and nodding a lot. "Hey, maybe those dreams will come true one day."

"I hope so," Sora shyly said.

Tai smiled a lot at Sora. The two reached for each other and hugged. Sora looked at her red watch and saw that was a little before half past six. She'd been asleep for a couple hours, and remembering her decision to take a nap when she got home. She also remembered the happy event that has occurred prior to coming home. She and Tai's soccer team had WON the soccer tournament finals!

Thinking back even more, she quickly recalled the events of the past day or so. After Datamon had been destroyed, they nearly forgot that the next day was the match of the soccer finals. Tai had been pretty worried about how well his team would fare against the other team of finalists, but after the mind games that Datamon had played on him, this last soccer game was going feel like a walk in the park. Still, Tai found that it was no easy match to win. His opponents moved fast and played strongly. But Tai now felt like he could just relax some, and really enjoy this match. And having his girlfriend there on the field alongside him to help out didn't hurt. The other team initially rejected this concept, but quickly dismissed the idea. They felt confident that they would win anyway.

But as good as Sora was, even she couldn't fully gauge her opponents' strengths and had a hard time. Some of the more obnoxious and arrogant players from the opposing team tried ganging up on her, but her own teammates were there to help bail her out. (Tai included, of course.)

For added support the rest of the Digidestined had come to watch the game, even Sor. She cheered for her and Tai, loudly. But that wasn't all. Sora also realized that her parents had come to watch. She neither liked nor disliked the idea, but Tai told her that he recommended that they come. This might have stirred up some confusion in Sora's mind, but she was too attached to the situation at hand to really worry.

Still, Sora and Tai managed to beat the odds once more, (especially since the other team was nowhere nearly as powerful as Datamon) and win the game. It was still a tough match, but the two Digidestined had racked up yet another victory. They had won the game by two goals, twelve to ten. The two kids promised to meet up with the rest of the Digidestined a little while after the small party that the team was invited to. The coach took them all out for lunch. He also informed Sora that she was more than welcome on the team next season, no questions asked. Afterwards, Tai and Sora went back to her "old" home, where Sora had another thing to take care of…

* * *

"Thanks for coming to see my soccer game," Sora said to her parents, with a little embarrassment.

"It was our pleasure," Mrs. Takenouchi softly stated.

"I just didn't expect to see you there…"

From further away, Tai peaked into the room where Sora was, speaking with her parents. Sora had mentioned that although she wanted Tai to accompany him to her parents' place, she wanted to be alone when she spoke to them. He understood, sensing that she was feeling a little stronger in her parent's presence. While she talked to her mother and father, Tai hung out in Sor's room. Sor also thought this would be a good chance to apologize.

Sor and Tai sat down, and she slowly explained everything that was on her mind. The next few minutes were anything BUT easy for either Sora. However, she did her best to remain firm and speak her mind using honesty and courage.

"…and that got me to where I am now," Sor said to Tai. "And…and I'm REALLY sorry that I've been ignoring you, and…well…you know the rest."

"Sora's it's o-"

"Don't say it's okay!" Sora interrupted. "Because it's not! It's partially MY fault that Greymon couldn't digivolve the other day! And because of that, everyone almost got killed!"

Tai was at a loss for words. The situation was strange to him. Ever since Sora appeared into everyone's lives, he had spent so much time with her. So much so that he failed to see much Sor had changed, due to her twin's debut. This girl (to an extent) had reverted into a mere shadow of the person she used to be.

But as much as she had changed, something compelled her to finally stop bottling up her feelings. It was time to be honest. And so she was. At the same time, she wondered how Tai could just simply dismiss Sor's past behavior, without a second thought. How could he just...FORGIVE her so easily? This was insane! That is…insane enough for Sor to plead her case with more deeds, and less words.

"TAI, I'M SORRY!" she yelled.

Amazingly enough, no one else in the other room heard her. Sor, who had been sitting on the edge of her bed, shot up and wrapped her arms around Tai tightly. Tai found himself holding his breath.

"Tai…I am, so, SO sorry!" she wailed. "I'm sorry I ignored you, I'm sorry for hurting your feelings, I'm sorry for lecturing you and my sister, I'm sorry for EVERTHING! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm SORRY!"

"Uhh…"

"Please…" she sobbed, wetting Tai's shirt with her salty tears, "PLEASE forgive me."

The two friends dropped to their knees, and Tai gave Sor another moment to squeeze out every last tear.

"Sor…" Tai finally said, "…I've already started to put it all behind me…but if it'll make you feel better…then of course I forgive you."

"Thank you…thank you so much…but how…how can you…forgive me…just like that?"

"Hey, we're best friends…" Tai explained. "And one of the biggest parts of being a friend is that you hafta learn to let go of some things, even when you get hurt."

"Y'know…" Sor began to say, "I recently learned that I might be able to get by without you being my boyfriend, Tai…but…I've just experienced what it's been like to not even have you as a friend…and it hurts more than anything."

"Where did you get that idea? I don't recall ever deciding to stop being your friend, you big sissy."

"Well, whatever awkwardness was going on between us, it felt like something awfully similar to me, and I didn't like it one bit."

"Sor…" Tai said, gently placing his hands on his friend's shaking shoulders, "…the one thing that will last forever is my feelings for you. And they're never gonna change. The truth is…I love Sora Takenouchi."

Sor looked up to face Tai and what he was saying really made sense and definitely sunk in.

"I've always loved her…and I always will," he finished with a warm smile.

Tai looked at the person who had been his best friend since forever. Despite her tears she began to smile too.

"Besides…" Tai added, the history that you and I have together…I don't think that being your best friend is a job I can quit."

Tai gently supped Sor's face, closed his eyes, and lightly (but passionately) kissed her. Some tears were still seeping out of her closed eyes, but Sor gently kissed back, too. Their embrace was more of a friendly gesture than anything else, but they both mentally admitted that it was enjoyable. As their lips let go, Sor finally wiped the last of her tears away, and smiled again. She firmly hugged Tai, who immediately got an idea.

"Hey, whaddya say that this weekend we do something fun together?" Tai asked. "Just you and me?"

"I'd like that a lot," Sor said, sniffing a little.

"Good. It's a date," he said jokingly. "Welcome back."

"Thanks...it's good to BE back."

* * *

Back outside the bedroom, Sora had continued to talk to her parents and apologized once more for having been so distant. Mrs. Takenouchi claimed if she had known that Sora was still stuck in the Digital World, then she would have done whatever was necessary to get her back home again.

Sora doubted her at first, but considering what her dad had told said about her mother, Sora believed every word. She didn't want to admit it, but Sora felt a little happier every time she saw her parents.

As this little conversation came to a head, Sora (like her sister) reached out without warning, and hugged her mother. Mrs. Takenouchi was surprised at her daughter's sudden display of affection, but smiled and hugged back.

"Momma…" Sora said, starting to cry a little bit, "…I forgot to tell you that…I really missed you…I missed you so much!"

"I know you did, sweetie…if only I'd known…" her mother whispered, "…I would've done anything to find you. And I wouldn't have stopped until you were home, safe in my arms!"

Mrs. Takenouchi cried a bit too, hanging onto every syllable that her daughter was spouting. Her husband joined in and hugged his wife and ("second") daughter.

Tai and Sor walked into the room just in time to see the trio hugging each other. Tai leaned against a wall, while Sor walked over to her parents, who greeted her kindly. Mr. Takenouchi gently hugged Sor from behind, while Mrs. Takenouchi placed her hands on Sora's shoulders.

"Well! First things first!" Mrs. Takenouchi exclaimed, breaking the peaceful silence. "We're going to have to get you settled in here…that is, unless you're not ready yet."

"I'm not," Sora agreed. "But I might be…someday."

Mrs. Takenouchi nodded, understanding that Sora was a little more independent and capable of roughing it than Sor was.

"Don't worry, you can stay at Mimi's place for as long as you want."

"Thanks, Mom."

"We also need get you back into school after the summer's over," Mr. Takenouchi noted. "And we'll have to buy you some new clothes…or you could share with your sister…I'm sure that her stuff would be a perfect fit for you, quite literally."

Sora thought briefly and imagined herself wearing a whole closet's worth of different kinds of dresses. Then her thoughts drifted to her "girlish" sister pressing her to try on something cute. Thoughts such as these didn't seem to agree with her and were NOT her idea of a good time. She quickly shook her head, ridding her mind of that horrible fantasy, that which caused her to shiver.

"And sis?" Sor asked.

"Yeah?" went Sora, breaking out of her terrifying thoughts.

"I'm sorry for…well, just about everything."

"Me too."

"I'd like to get to know you better. Well, if that's possible…and I'd like it…if we…y'know, became friends," Sor finished.

Sora nodded her head, feeling the same.

"Same here…I think I'd enjoy that, too."

The two identical girls smiled and shook hands, finally making peace with each other.

"Well, I guess we're really stuck with two daughters now," their dad joked.

"Somehow…I think you'll all be able to manage," Tai noted, joining the conversation.

* * *

"I'm really glad that you finally made up with your mom," Tai said, also thinking back.

"Well, I felt bitter towards her for about four years…maybe it really IS time to ease up and start behaving like a real daughter," Sora said in a soft voice.

"YES!" squeaked a loud voice from not too far away.

Tai and Sora turned their heads and saw Mimi facing away from them, chatting eagerly on the phone, apparently in the middle of an exciting conversation. They weren't the type to eavesdrop, but Mimi was talking pretty loud over the phone, so it was nearly impossible NOT to hear what she was saying.

"Uh, huh…I understand…yes, of course! So…you'll really, REALLY let me!"

The other two teens looked at each other with blank stares, shrugged and then turned their attention back to Mimi.

"Honestly? No WAY…I just can't believe it…oh, thank you, I…yes, I promise I'll work hard to catch up…I know it'll be difficult, but I'll still visit…yes, but…yeah…but this is where everyone is."

"What's with her?" Sora asked.

"I have no idea. She was on the phone when I came," Tai answered.

"Okay, I got it…yeah, me too…I'm sorry is so sudden, but believe me, I want this…I'll miss you a lot…yes, but right now, I wanna be with my friends…yeah…I love you, too! And thank you…bye!"

Mimi could barely control her enthusiasm as she hung up the phone. She quickly hurried herself over to the couch where Sora and Tai were sitting, and felt that if she didn't relay the good news to someone, her head would burst.

"Sora! WONDERFUL, AWESOME NEWS!"

"Easy, Mimi! Take a deep breath and tell us calmly before you burst a blood vessel!" Sora said.

Mimi just giggled and sat herself down on the couch next to her two friends, unable to sit still.

"The thing is…I made a BIG decision and needed to talk to my folks. That was them on the phone."

"And?" Tai asked.

"Well, it's gonna be complicated and tough, since my announcement to them was so sudden, but I really think that I can make this work!"

Sora sensed Mimi's getting more infectious. She just wanted her say what was on her mind.

"Stop keeping us in suspense and just spit it out already!" Sora said, raising her voice.

Mimi took a deep breath, and let her two friends in on what was going on.

"Guess what…I'm STAYING!" she announced.

"Staying where?" Tai asked.

The longhaired girl just slapped her hand over her eyes and briefly gritted her teeth in partial frustration.

"Tai, I'm staying HERE! As in…NOT going back to America!"

Tai's eyes widened at this development, and he immediately smiled. Sora did the same.

"NO WAY!" they both hollered at the same time.

"It's true! Mom and Dad were warned me that it'll be difficult getting myself settled in back here, but I told them that I WANTED this! I mean…they were a little sad about it, but they understood that I really needed to be here, where everyone I can be with everyone I love!"

Sora and Mimi stared at each other in amazement. Tai plugged his ears, knowing what was coming.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The two girls playfully cheered and held onto each other and jumped up and down repeatedly.

"Mimi…this is GREAT!" Sora exclaimed.

"I know!" Mimi agreed. "I'm totally psyched that I'm staying for GOOD!"

"Welcome back, Mimi," Tai warmly said, giving her a hug.

"What can I say? This really IS where I belong!"

"I couldn't have put it better myself," Tai noted.

"And I couldn't agree with you more, Mimi," Sora added. "Wait 'til you tell everyone else about this at dinner!"

* * *

The Digidestined had decided to celebrate their latest victory over an early dinner at the Pizza Palace. Then they planned to head over to the Mega Mania Arcade, to have some real (recreational) fun.

The trio of teens from the Tachikawa apartment decided to head together as a group. On the way, Mimi got a call on her cell phone so she picked it up to answer. Tai thought this might be a good time to ask her about some things that was still gnawing at his mind.

"Hey, Sora? I meant to ask you something…did you ever…y'know, CALL me?"

"Umm…I'm not sure I follow, Tai."

"Well, uh…a little before we found you and during the time you and I spent together…I swore I could have heard your voice, calling out for help. I know, it doesn't ring a bell, huh?"

"No."

"Well, a few days before we headed back to Etemon's pyramid, my computer activated on its own, and there was nothing on the screen but static, Suddenly, for a split second, I saw your face on the screen. You were calling out for help."

Sora thought even harder, and something in Tai's words seemed to strike a chord in her memory. Then it hit her, and what Tai was saying all started to make perfect sense. Well…almost, anyway. Sora snapped her fingers, knowing that there was nothing to worry about.

"Ah, I remember now! While I was trapped in the Digital World, I traveled to many different places, and saw many different sights. But my main focus was trying to do whatever it took to get home. Some of the places I visited had these futuristic, high-tech gadgets that were able to send transmissions across great lengths. I thought that with a little luck, I could modify one to contact Earth."

"But it didn't work?"

"No…although we certainly came close a few times. To this day, I'm still not exactly sure how it really happened, but every time we came close…I got a glimpse of the real world. And when I saw it…YOU were always there, Tai."

"Whaddya mean?"

"Every single time I saw Earth, you were always somewhere there in the area," Sora said, starting to cry a little.

"Oh…"

"I remember seeing you sitting down at school, and you were in a room with a bunch of other computers…and you were watching a television. The second time, I saw you in your bed, late at night, struggling to sleep. Then finally, I saw you in your room…but that time, you did see me. It was hard to make out what you were saying, but you asked me if I needed help. I tried to respond, but the transmission ended, and we couldn't get things working again after that."

Now Tai was the one thinking hard. His mind reached far into its memory banks and he soon figured out what was going on. It reminded him of the time him and Koromon were whisked away back to the real world, while the others were stuck in the Digital World.

Tai received as transmission from Izzy (Or was it the opposite?), and Tai did his best to respond, but the signal that he got from Izzy was faint and no one could quite make out what was going on from either side of the "long-distance call" that was being made.

"I nearly gave up on getting home after traveling alone in the Digital World for so long. But seeing you for those brief moments Tai…that gave me more hope and determination to make it back than I'd ever dreamed possible."

"Well, what matters is that you're here now, Sora."

"Thanks for caring, Tai…and I'm also sorry. I know what I was saying didn't really make much sense."

"Actually…it makes perfect sense to me," Tai quipped, reflecting back on his own experiences. "And for now, let's just leave it at that."

"Sounds good to me."

"Still…there's so much that I wanna ask about you."

"Well, summer's practically here…" Sora noted. "…I'll soon have all the time in the world to tell you whatever you wanna know."

* * *

Izzy and Sor were the first to arrive at the Pizza Palace, albeit a little early. Looking around for the others, they saw Mimi, Sora, and Tai arriving from one direction, and T.K. and Kari in the other. The seven kids sat down at one of the larger tables, where there were three large pizzas, and two large pitchers of soda that Izzy had ordered for everyone.

Sora volunteered to help Izzy bring the food and drinks over to the table where everyone would be sitting. This worked out fine for Izzy, as he had something to discuss with Sora anyway.

"Hey, Sora…I've got some good news. My laptop has been working around the clock to decipher the files I downloaded back at the pyramid. I should be able to decode everything by midday tomorrow."

"That's great, Izzy."

"Yeah, and if you want I can copy it onto a disk for you."

"I'm a little surprised that you haven't taken a sneak peek at everything you've been able to decipher so far!"

"Well…I have reason to believe that a good number of these files are about you and you alone, Sora. I didn't feel that it was my place to study data that concerned someone one else. If nothing else, I felt that it just would have been fair to let you have first glance at things," Izzy explained.

"Thanks, Izzy. That's very considerate of you. I'll accept the disk, but I'm not sure if I'll ever look at it. But it's nice to know that I'll have options now."

Izzy smiled and nodded. By now, everyone else had already sat down at the table, patiently waiting to eat. Sora carefully placed the trays of pizza down and took a seat next to Tai.

"Well, let's get started and pig out!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, if we're gonna go cruise over to the Mega-Mania Arcade, there's no way I'm doing it on an empty stomach!" Tai declared.

"Shouldn't we wait for Joe and my brother?" T.K. asked.

"I should think so!" hollered a familiar voice.

Everyone lifted their heads slightly and saw that it was Matt and Joe, who had finally made it. But the other seven kids just kept staring, seeing as how the blonde looked very different, as did Joe. Sor got up from her seat and walked over to her boyfriend, examining him very closely.

"Matt, did you cut your hair!" Sor asked, with an unbelievable look on her face to match.

"Well, actually I had a professional do it FOR me. Took you long enough to notice!" he cheerfully replied, with his hands in his pockets.

The six remaining kids at the table stared for half a minute at the two boys, and realized that it was true. Matt and Joe had gotten a haircut a little while ago, having their hair cut much shorter than it had been recently, to about the length it was when they were eleven and twelve, respectively.

Sora and Tai didn't remember their hair looking so different at the soccer game, so the two boys must have gotten their haircuts within the last few hours or so.

"So…" Matt said to Sor, "…say something already! Do you like it?"

"Matt, it's fine. You look very…interesting," Sor chuckled, partially at a loss for words.

"So in other words, you hate it!" Matt joked. "You just can't please a girl these days!"

The couple laughed and cheerfully sat down with the others. Mimi quickly called to Joe.

"Here, Joe! Sit next to me! I saved a seat for you!" she said, in a very upbeat voice.

Mimi wasn't sure whether these newfound feelings for Joe were genuine or even lasting, but a large portion of her wanted to explore the possibilities. And the timing couldn't be better, since she had decided to stay here, with all of her truest friends. But even if Mimi's relationship with Joe went no further than friendship, she decided that it really was time to let go of Matt. And that was the first step to making her more healthy, mentally and emotionally. Nevertheless, Joe smiled at Mimi and happily took a seat next to her.

"By the way, Joe…I, for one, thin your hair looks great," she whispered.

"Thanks," Joe answered. "And I meant to say a while back…I'm glad that you got rid of the pink dye in your hair."

"Oh?" Mimi asked, still smiling and fluttering her nearly irresistible cute eyes at him.

"Yeah…I always thought your light brown hair made you look prettier."

Mimi's cheeks flushed again a little, but this time she was able to handle it somewhat better. Still blushing, she nervously moved her soft hand and rested it atop of Joe's. He looked at her and smiled, gently taking hold of it.

"A toast!" Matt yelled, holding up his cup of soda. "To yet another victory won by the Digidestined!"

"Here, here!" T.K. said, joining in. "But we really owe a lot to Tai and Sora and their digimon!"

"Totally!" Mimi happily chirped.

"Yeah, they were the ones who really made the big save!" Kari declared.

"And let's not forget MagnaAngemon!" T.K. added on.

"I don't think that's possible," Joe stated.

"I'm dubious that anyone will ever forget the impressive show that he put on today!" Izzy noted. "It was nothing short of PRODIGIOUS!"

Everyone smiled. Mimi then cleared her throat and decided to make another toast to herself for obvious reasons. Upon announcing that she was staying here and NOT going back to America, everyone clapped, cheered and hugged Mimi very tightly.

"Well, it's official," Sor commented. "We're all one big, happy family again! And with a little extra something, too."

Sor pointed to her twin and everyone gave a small round of applause. No one was really sure as to whether or not it was because of Sora's appearance that everyone grew closer again, but whatever the reason, no one appeared to be complaining.

"Another thing is official, too…" Sora said. "When it comes to working together, no one can beat us!"

"That's right!" Tai agreed, raising his glass higher than anyone else's. "As long we believe in each other, our digimon and ourselves, there's NOTHING that we can't do!"

Everyone clapped again before Tai made his closing quote…

"Digidestined forever, guys!"

The other eight kids also raised their glasses, repeating Tai's words…

"DIGIDESTINED FOREVER!"

* * *

Two hours later, the Digidestined had completely fried their brains playing video games, miniature golf, and just about anything else you can think up (at the Pizza Palace and Mega-Mania Arcade, respectively), the Digidestined had about as much fun as they could take.

Summer was closer than anyone expected, and soon the Digidestined would have all the time they wanted to goof off. Up until now, it seemed they reunited for important missions in the Digital World or for their annual reunions, but from now on, no longer. Although the Digidestined knew that it was very important to meet and make new friends, they now remembered that it was also important not to forget your old ones. Their recent adventure in the Digital World had taught them that lesson.

Everyone broke off from each other, as it was starting to get dark. Instead of a simple "see ya", the kids really made it a point to wave to each other, shake hands, make plans as soon as tomorrow to hang out, and so on. While this occurred, Sor took Tai aside for a moment.

"Hey, Tai? Remember our…special, secret place?"

"Of course."

"Well, I want you and my sister to share it with each other from now on. Just you and her. No one else."

"Look, if this about your anniversary with Matt, then you two should-"

"Find some other place to make our own," Sor finished for him, remembering that the hill DID "belong" to him and her first.

"You and her have many things to share with each other that should JUST be yours. And there'll be things that will JUST be for us. But…that hill really is yours."

Tai nodded, fully understanding her reasoning. The two teens smiled at each other

"Thanks, Sor."

"You're welcome."

Tai quickly hugged Sor, and lightly kissed her soft lips. Thankfully, no one saw. Except for Kari that is. Sor and Tai were now both content to become and remain as close friends with each other, and from now on, they knew that any embrace they shared - be it either close hugging or soft kissing - would be regarded by both as a friendly gesture.

Kari looked at Sor and smiled, glad to see that Sor had apologized to Tai and was acting like a true friend to him now. Sor saw Kari and smiled, too, very happy that things had ultimately worked out between her and the two Kamiya siblings.

* * *

Tai took Sor's advice and decided to take his girlfriend up to the top of that very hill an hour later. Instead of going up there together, they decided to meet. Tai got there first, with a special pair of gifts for Sora. He sat down near the big tree on top of the hill that seemed to have been there since forever.

Suddenly, a pair of hands covered Tai's eyes. But the boy didn't even budge.

"BOO!" went a loud voice.

"You don't really expect me to react to that…do you, Sora?"

"Guess we're both getting a little predictable these days, huh?" Sora asked.

"Well, thanks anyway for trying to scare me," Tai said, giving Sora a kiss on the cheek.

"No problem," Sora said, looking at wonderful view that she was getting from the city below, and the sky above. "Wow…it seems like forever since we came up here together."

"Yeah…hey, remember that time when we got so mad at our parents that we ran away?" Tai asked.

"Mm-hm…we were both eight, I think. We tired to get as far away as we could until we came to this tree on top of this hill," Sora said, remembering everything clearly.

"I dunno HOW our parents found us, but they did."

"Well, despite the circumstances, it was still way past our bedtime when they took us home."

The couple laughed and sat down on the grass, leaning on each other. Tai then remembered his gifts.

"Hey, Sora…I got something for ya."

Tai pulled out a cube-shaped box, neatly wrapped. Sora looked at it with much curiosity in her eyes.

"What is it?"

"Well…actually, I think you'll be very pleased with what's inside. I pulled some strings with your sister earlier today when we visited your parents, and she and I believed that what's inside this box really belongs to you."

Sora scratched her head, and opened the box, and smiled with what she saw inside. It was round, it was blue, and it was supposed to cover one's head.

A lucky helmet.

"Whoa! I…I can't believe it! It's my helmet! I thought I'd lost it a while back!"

"Well, Sor still had this in her closet, and she and I thought that you might be able to take good care of it better than she did, regardless of whether you wear it or not."

Sora gave Tai big hug and a big kiss and pulled out something from behind her back.

"Actually, I've got something for you, too," Sora admitted, pulling out a small plastic bag and handing it to Tai.

"I'm sorry it's not wrapped."

"It's cool. Don't worry about…hey!"

Sora smiled as she watched another creep into Tai's face. Inside the bag, was a relic that was similar to Sora's helmet. To Tai, it was stylish, it had been passed on, and now it was back in his possession.

Goggles.

"Whoa…" Tai started to say, "…now THIS I didn't see coming at all."

"Is that a good thing?"

Tai was at a loss for words. He couldn't believe that he had his old goggles back in his very hands. On the inside, Tai was jumping for joy and was more happy than expected. On the outside…he was rendered temporarily speechless.

"Sora…where…WHERE did you get these! I gave these old goggles of mine to Davis a long time ago!"

"I know. After our match in the soccer semi-finals, I noticed Davis was wearing them. So I asked him why and he filled me in. So with a little persuasion…I managed to get him to give 'em back."

"Was he really okay with it?"

"Overall, yes. He really seemed to understand, and gave them back before he left for vacation."

"Thank you, Sora…this is one of the nicest presents that anyone's ever given to me."

"Likewise," Sora said, nodding.

Tai took a blue headband (which he sometimes still kept on him) out of his brown shorts pocket. He put it on, and then fastened the goggles over the headband.

Sora inspected her old light blue helmet, happily observing at how it was still in pretty good condition. Without any further ado, she raised it up and firmly placed it over her head.

"How's the helmet?" Tai asked.

"Surprisingly enough…it still fits. What about your goggles?"

"Still as snug as ever."

Tai and Sora flashed big grins and gave each other a high-five.

"By the way…whether I keep on wearing my helmet or not, I want you to keep wearing the goggles."

"Why?"

"Because I went to a heck of a lotta trouble to get those goggles back," Sora noted.

Sora pinned her boyfriend down onto the grassy surface underneath him and lied down on top of him before continuing.

"And besides…you look real handsome wearing them," she stated, giggling.

She closed her eyes and a cute little moan escaped her mouth as she sweetly kissed Tai, who forgot about everything else around him (save Sora) and kissed back. The two of them continued to freely embrace other, until one more thought crept into the back of his head. That's when he started to remember the one thing that would formalize his relationship with Sora.

There was still one last gift that needed to be delivered. Effective immediately. Breaking off the extremely pleasurable kissing for a moment, he sat upright and put his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder.

"Sora I need to ask you a serious question."

"Shoot, Tai. You know that you can ask me anything."

"Well, while you were stuck in the Digital World…what was the one thing you wanted most?"

Sora found it a little odd that Tai would ask such a question. But then again, her answer would prove to be somewhat different from what Tai imagined.

"To be honest, my greatest desire back then wasn't to get home, or to find Biyomon, or even conquer evil and save the Digital World. My dream…was to have you by my side again, no matter what mind of situation I was in."

"Really?"

"Yeah. For as long I can remember, you've always been there for me. And because of that, I've tried to be there for you just as much."

"Thanks, Sora. I really needed to hear that."

"Why?"

"Because I want you to be there for me…when the most perfect, fulfilling moment of my life hits."

"What exactly are you talking about, Tai?"

"I'll explain. But first, I need to you close your eyes."

Sora took a deep breath, then did what she was told. Tai smiled and resumed talking.

"Sora…you are the most…indescribable treasure in my life. You're more valuable than anything I can imagine. You're also a sly little minx that just sneaked into my heart, and introduced it to the power of love, before I even fully recognized it. Somewhere along the years, your heart threw out a line, and made a permanent connection with mine. And even in times of sadness or danger, that link between out hearts forces me to keep taking that one extra step to make it into the next day…until I prevail."

"Tai, what is this all leading to?" Sora asked, through closed eyes.

"I'm saying that before, I wasn't satisfied with JUST being friends with you. But now…I'm no longer content with JUST being your boyfriend."

Sora got a little worried when those last few words of Tai's entered her ears. But she remained strong and would listen to the end.

"The point I'm trying to make is…well, it can only be summed up in one more question. Sora?"

"Yes?" she asked, smiling.

"The two of us are only fifteen right now…but when we get older…and when we have sturdy jobs…and when we get a good education…and when we feel that the time is right…"

Sora held her breath, wondering how all this would ultimately play out.

"…will you marry me?"

Her closed eyes shot open like a cannon that just let off a single shot upon hearing those words. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Sora considered asking for Tai to repeat himself to make sure that she heard right, but that all became a moot issue as she saw that her boyfriend was now kneeling on one knee in front of her. In his hands was an open velvet box. And in that box…was a ring.

"Oh…m-m-m-my…"

No wonder that speech of his was so grand and noble. Tai's words sounded an awful lot like weddings vows. Sora was a little more than overwhelmed at Tai's proposal, which sunk into her brain like a stone.

"Is that ring for real!" she stammered.

Tai just nodded, giving no explanation of how or where he got expensive looking ring, except…

"Long story."

That was all he could say right now.

Tears formed in Sora's eyes. She was overjoyed that Tai had even considered this. Sora had hoped that once got back to Earth, she would meet up with Tai and become romantically involved with him, but this situation beat all of her fantasies, dreams, and hopes by a great distance that was incapable of being measured. But what really surprised her was that she didn't even need time to consider her answer.

"Yes, Tai…I'll marry you!" Sora cried.

What followed afterwards was just actions and gestures. The placing of the ring on Sora's finger, Tai picking up Sora by the waist and twirling her in the air, and the incalculable number of passionate kisses, fierce hugs and joyful tears.

Being engaged was the best thing that could've happened to Sora. Tai made it clear that they were going to wait for a VERY long time before they got married, but still…it was nice to have something to look forward to. They lied down on their backs again, and decided to spend the night there.

The air was warm, but there were continuous cool breezes that were moving across the area. It was pretty dark by now, and Sora could see the refreshing wind blowing through the grass like the waves of the ocean. The stars had come out, and twinkled brightly in the sky. Nature was doing its absolute best to ensure that the couple would have a wonderful time.

Sora leaned her head against Tai's chest and sighed, thinking about the one boy who would never let her down. Tai raised his head some to take a look at Sora, the one girl that would no doubt always be there for him without fail. The two kids looked at each other, and locked eyes with each other.

"I love you," they said to each other at the same time.

Tai Kamiya and Sora Takenouchi passionately kissed under the giant tree that shielded them from anyone's sight. Finally satisfied with everything life had given them, Sora took one more look at the beautiful ring around her finger. The couple then closed their eyes, and fell asleep.

* * *

"Wow! You can see EVERYTHING from up on this hill!" a very young Tai Kamiya exclaimed.

"But Tai, we're only eight! Are you sure we're gonna be okay!" little Sora Takenouchi asked.

The little eight year-old boy walked over to where Sora was and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Hey…wasn't it YOUR idea to run away! Besides, not a lotta people come up here. We'll be fine!"

"You're right! Besides, some worrying will do Mom good!"

Tai yawned, as it was getting dark. He walked over to the tree's trunk and sat down. Sora plopped herself down and leaned against him.

"I-is…is this okay?" the little girl asked nervously.

"Whatever," Tai shrugged. "Just don't get hair up my nose!"

Sora giggled. But then she stopped to think about something. She wasn't sure if her friend would take it seriously, but she had to ask.

"Hey, Tai? We get along so well…and we see each other like everyday n' stuff, right?"

"Uh, huh."

"Then when we get older…y'wanna like, get married or something?"

"Why? You're my best friend! It'd be SO weird!"

"Well, then we could play together as much as we want, and we could do whatever we want, too!"

"No way, REALLY!" Tai asked with excitement in his voice now.

"Yeah, when your married, you can, um, do like a whole lotta things that you were never allowed to do before!"

"Like what?"

"Well, um…we could have cookies for breakfast, lunch and dinner…we can jump on the bed, run around the house and scream really loud! Plus, we can go to bed whenever we want!"

"That's too cool! Okay, there's no choice! We GOTTA get married someday!"

Little Sora blushed as she heard Tai say that, for she was very happy now. Her mom had dragged her to a wedding a month ago, and Sora watched everything that played out, and remembered it all. She decided not to mention the kissing part to her young friend…yet.

"Y'really mean it, Tai?" she asked somewhat shyly.

"Sure! Let's do it! But you hafta promise me somethin'!"

"What's that?"

Now it was Tai's turn to act all shy.

"Uhh…well…y'gotta promise that you'll grow up REAL cute! Okay?"

"Okay. Spit promise!" Sora asked.

Tai and Sora spat a small bit of saliva from their mouth into their palms and shook hands firmly. With that particular "deal" all taken care off. They lied down back down on the grass, and started to drift off to sleep. Little Sora opened her eyes a bit, to take a good look at Tai, who was already asleep. She smiled at her young friend, who was snoring a little. With a wave of nervousness flooding her system, she closed her eyes briefly, and gently brushed her shaking lips against his for the barest instant. The sensation of such an action was so intense for the eight year-old girl that she gasped and immediately pulled herself back, covering her lips with her mouth.

Working up the nerve one more time, she leaned forward one more time, and this time when their lips met, she didn't let go so easily. She became deathly frightened when she felt Tai's lips start to kiss back a little. But when she finally pulled away, she saw that Tai was still fast asleep. Sora giggled to herself, and snuggled up to her friend, and let her fatigue take over her being.

Wide awake or fast asleep, little Tai Kamiya and little Sora Takenouchi knew that even at this young age, there would be tough times ahead as their friendship developed itself. But despite the deal they made to get married in the far future, one irreversible, unbreakable, constant promise was made when they met for the first time. Whether or not they would fall in love, get married, and have kids of their own…

…they promised that they would always be friends.

Good friends.

Close friends.

Best friends.

Forever.

**THE BEGINNING**

* * *

Well…that's it people! Sadly, this is the final chapter of "Second Chances For Sora!" I really hope that you readers and reviewers thoroughly enjoyed it! Mr. Disclaimer and I worked long and hard on this story, and we both welcome all any feedback you can give us! Still, I must apologize on how long this last chapter was! I was feeling too lazy to set up another chapter, and I needed to tie up most - if not all - of the loose ends in this story. (Wonder if I should write a sequel?) Besides, an even sixteen chapters sounded fitting. Now, for my news…

I'm afraid that for now, this will be my LAST Digimon fanfic! While I am far from quitting the fanfiction scene, I feel that there are other options to be considered. Which means I'm going to take some time off to write new stories based on other anime series.

So, bear in mind that isn't "goodbye forever" to you digimon fans. This is a "so long for now".

However, I think some of you shall be quite pleased with what I have in mind! Do any of you like ancient magic, playing cards, and Shadow Games? Well, then...it's your lucky day! I'll be writing two brand new stories based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series! I've already written the first one, so it will be posted soon! But not until I receive all the reviews that this story so richly deserve!

Once more, I'm most grateful all the support and liveliness you have breathed into this story by reading it! This little piece of marvelous fiction could not have been complete without your help and contribution! It's been a long journey, but this one is finally over! And now...I bid you all adieu as Mr. Disclaimer and I must pack up and venture out on a new journey into another piece of fanfiction! Song long…for now.


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